Blues on the Beach

Pretty blues with an irritating twist.

This is a Portuguese man-o'-war (Physalia utriculus), a dead one, that I put back in the water to see if it might recover. There are little ones all over the beach at the moment. Apparently the tendrils can cause irritation for some weeks after they have died but having tough feet it's quite amusing to step on them and they go with a sharp pop.

This is a very interesting creature and very beautiful when alive if you can find a picture of one. It's not just one animal but a colony with each part of the colony having a specific purpose. The "float" is the most obvious one and the rest have various purposes and tasks.