Box Jellyfish

There is a post on BVI Community FB page about box jellies at the Baths and the caves at Norman today. Be careful out there!!

every July without fail

Our pool looks clear. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />

A pox on the box..but none so far her in Apple Bay where we have a huge full beach!

Reports on FB include a man with serious stings at Peter Island. Visar has reported several people with severe stings. Spring Bay, the Baths, Norman seem to be the worst..
With 10 days to go I am hopeful they will have floated by..

They normally show up 8-10 days after a full moon.

Absolutely amazing that we have never run into those nasty things! VERY Lucky.

They're seasonal and the moon has no effect.

We just returned after two weeks. I didn't see any jellys but two in our group saw a small 1-2" one. At Monkey Pt. a couple of us got some tiny stings but it stopped stinging in about 5 minutes, I think it must have been sea lice. Here's hoping others have the same luck!

We had the same experience at Monkey Point yesterday. After that we grabbed the ball in Muskmelon Bay and the jellies were VERY thick. Small 1=2 inch jellies with about one in every square meter. No one wanted to snorkel.

Maybe someone knows the difference...

when we were down there we saw ~5 per square meter of walnut sized (shell one) jellys, the sting was noticeable, but was a 5 minute deal that a splash of vinegar quickly resolved. this was when we were down for the month of June.

A few years back I got stung by something that looked just like it, and I felt like CRAP for 2 days. this was beginning of July.

Then I hear stories about box jellies that seem to be at a whole different level of severity.

Are we seeing the same thing, just at different maturity levels?

Hello all. On San Souci II here at Marina Cay. Wondering about jellies at Norman today July 14. We have little peeps on board and really do not want to deal with stings.

By the way Happy Bastille Day to our French friends!

The weathercarib BVI Beach Flags page is showing warning flags at the Baths today

"Purple Flags are flying at The Baths NPT..
FOR ALL STINGS BE PREPARED TO TREAT FOR AN
ALLERGIC REACTION OR FOR ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK."

http://www.weathercarib.com/BVIbeach.htm

We'll be checking that next week.

Cheers, RickG

Box jellyfish stings should never be treated with epinephrine. That will likely kill the victim. Only cure is an antidote discovered by a woman in Hawaii. Google "box jellyfish" and "mens health magazine" for a great article about the most deadly predator in the water.

wrong box jelly, I believe you are talking about the Pacific box jelly. The ones in the Caribbean are harmless, a little sting, unless you have an allergy.

The Caribbean "box jelly" is a cousin but not quite the same as the south Pacific Box Jellyfish. The proper name is Alatina Alata or "Sea Wasp" and its sting is painful but rarely as fatal as the Austrailian variety.

I'm referring to the class Cubozoa of which the Alatina is part of.They are found in the Caribbean, the Keys, Australia and Hawaii. Regardless of the distant relation this class produces a neurotoxin that is different from other jellies that can cause Irukandji syndrome and epinephrine should never be used, especially on victims that are allergic as it can cause cardiac arrest.

Just getting back home from ten days . We saw jellies at almost every spot, including the ones mentioned above. All of our group got stung but after scrubbing hard with salt water and dousing with vinegar all where fine. Btw- none of the stings caused anyone to actually exit the water we just hit it with vinegar when we got out.

Are the nasty Box ones typically or only in July (or later)? It seems the "regular" jellyfish show up a week or so after the full moon.

I ask as we're planning an early June villa with several kids in tow.

We've only ever visited in May and June and have only encountered the thimble ones.

I can report no jellies at Norman, the Indians or Cooper.

Seems as if it all depends on the winds and currents. You'll have jellies one day and none the next at any given location.

Right, they mainly come in with the currents and tides in clusters during the season which is from July till about the end of September, but then you have certain years where they get here earlier like this year along with Sargasso weeds.

Many varieties of jellyfish, but not all, swarm beginning the 8th day after a full moon for 3-4 days. In Hawaii this is very consistent and they have a published calendar for when to avoid the water. They typically are pushed by current to the lee shore of an island. However a species of Box jellyfish actually have eyes and swim towards lights on shore.

Now that is funny....swim towards lights on shore? So if these are primitive creatures that have been around for millions of years, what lights on shore did they swim for back then? Or if the power goes out they get lost? :):):)

Haha Teammac. The moon, hence their arrival shortly after it's the brightest. They swim to the light regardless of its source. But now the light source is increasingly shore based. In Hawaii the resorts flood their beaches and water with light at night. These locations often have some of the greatest concentrations of this species. Coincidence?