‘Millions’ of bizarre blue blobs wash ashore on California beaches. What are they?

Waves of unusual blue blob-like creatures resembling jellyfish are washing ashore on California beaches, but what are they?

Known as velella velella or by-the-wind sailors, the blobs are not jellyfish but colonies of polyps similar to the Portuguese man o’ war, according to JellyWatch.

They feed on zooplankton and algae using their tentacles, but are not dangerous to humans.

Velella velella ride on the surface of the water, catching the wind with translucent “sails” that sit upright on their oval bodies, JellyWatch reports.

Strong winds typically wash thousands up on California beaches each year.

In an Instagram video posted Saturday, Dana Wharf Whale Watching reported seeing “millions” of the creatures on the ocean.

“Ocean sunfish love to eat these,” science teacher Nona Reimer said in the video.

Velella velella have been spotted on Huntington Beach, Zuma Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Salt Creek Beach in Southern California, KTLA reported.

They’ve also shown up at Point Reyes National Seashore farther north, officials reported on Facebook.

“You may come across a fresh wash-up of Velella, tinging the stretch of shoreline blue, but if they’ve been there a while, they will look like crinkly and dry ovals of cellophane,” the post said.

This story was originally published April 10, 2023 at 7:29 AM with the headline "‘Millions’ of bizarre blue blobs wash ashore on California beaches. What are they?."