Box jellies in Bonaire

[Spike_Digger]

I had a near encounter with some box jellies last week in Bonaire. We were getting ready to go for a night dive off the dock at Buddy's, when some neighbors told us about some snorkelers who had been taken to the hospital the night before, after being stung by sea wasps. We decided not to go diving, and instead took our dive lights down the dock to look for the sea wasps. We counted six box jellies swimming around, under the lights by the pier. They're apparently attracted to the lights, perhaps because they're plankton feeders, which are also attracted to the lights? This all happened about a week or so after the full moon.

I have several questions, which the Bonaire regulars might be able to answer:

Are "sea wasps" synonymous with box jellies? I previously thought that they were two names for the same animal, but some divers there said they were different?!

Before going to Bonaire, I did some reading on jellyfish, and I thought that I had read somewhere that the only known box jellies in Bonaire are the Bonairean Banded Box Jelly. Is that a true statement, or do multiple kinds of box jellies exist in Bonaire?

Is it common in Bonaire to have an outbreak of box jellies 8-10 days after a full moon?

 

[jchull]

I almost swam into one on Saturday around noon just north of Salt Pier. It was very good of them to tell us that there are no stinging jellies in Bonaire at the dive briefing.

 

[dvrliz1]

RU sure they were box jellies? This is not the season, not saying you can't have them anytime, but we did have the tunicates called Salps here that resemble jellies but do not sting.....

 

[scubaaaronh]

Will a lycra dive skin alone stop a jelly fish sting if you bump into it? I usually wear a skin with a 3 mm shorty when in warm water.

 

[txdano]

Yes box jellies are also commonly referred to as sea wasps.

 

[Spike_Digger]

RU sure they were box jellies? This is not the season, not saying you can't have them anytime, but we did have the tunicates called Salps here that resemble jellies but do not sting.....

Hi Liz, I can't say for sure, not being familiar with Salps. They sure looked like the pictures I've seen of box jellies. They had a 3-4" long bell, with a square shaped bottom, with one tentacle 3" to 15" long (est.) trailing from each corner of the square. They swam in circles, right on the surface, perhaps feeding on plankton? When we were down by the dock looking at the jellies with our flashlights, I met 3 divers that had been stung by them the night before. They showed me their wounds. They said that the pain was spectacular, like getting electrocuted. It was hard to sleep the first night, and they still had tingling 24 hours later. 2 people at our resort (Buddy's) had to be taken to the hospital with breathing problems, after getting stung. I'm guessing that they were box jellies based on the severity of the stings, the resemblance to box jellies, and the fact that the divemasters called them sea wasps.

 

[piikki]

Hi Liz, I can't say for sure, not being familiar with Salps. They sure looked like the pictures I've seen of box jellies. They had a 3-4" long bell, with a square shaped bottom, with one tentacle 3" to 15" long (est.) trailing from each corner of the square. They swam in circles, right on the surface, perhaps feeding on plankton? When we were down by the dock looking at the jellies with our flashlights, I met 3 divers that had been stung by them the night before. They showed me their wounds. They said that the pain was spectacular, like getting electrocuted. It was hard to sleep the first night, and they still had tingling 24 hours later. 2 people at our resort (Buddy's) had to be taken to the hospital with breathing problems. I'm guessing that they were box jellies based on the severity of the stings, the resemblance to box jellies, and the fact that the divemasters called them sea wasps.

Considering that during the week I was there recently it was nearly impossible not to get brushed by the Salps that does not sound at all like Salp induced...People should have been falling left and right.

Buddy and I and several others got severe stinging/burning from something in the water that lasted couple of minutes but nothing like what you describe, and nothing that really left any other marks but minor redness and/or swelling for max 24 hrs. I don't even know if Salps do anything?

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Here's the pic my wife took of one last November on Bonaire - we were on a night dive

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/64944/cat/2142/sortby/v/sorttime/999/way/desc

Sure sounds like this is what you're describing, Spike Digger. Were the tentacles pinkish like this one?

 

[Spike_Digger]

Here's the pic my wife took of one last November on Bonaire - we were on a night dive

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/64944/cat/2142/sortby/v/sorttime/999/way/desc

Sure sounds like this is what you're describing, Spike Digger. Were the tentacles pinkish like this one?

That looks a lot like what we saw. I think the tentacles were pinkish. While swimming around on the surface, the tentacles were grouped closer together. I thought the tentacles trailed from the four corners of a box-like bottom to the bell, but I could be wrong. I do distinctly remember that the tentacles were different lengths, as shown in your picture. Are these considered box jellies, or something else?

 

[blueeyes_austin]

There is a recent thread in Bonaire Talk about these creatures:

http://www.bonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/30/318812.html?1179420362