Photo by Matt Rath/Chesapeake Bay Program
Annapolis, MD - Maryland Department of Natural Resources wants beach goers to be aware of the jellyfish in the Chesapeake Bay and along Sandy Point's shores. To prepare for your next beach day at Sandy Point, it is recommended that you bring a first aid kit that includes lidocaine gel or hydrocortisone and a hot pack.
Three species of jellyfish can be found in the Chesapeake Bay: sea nettles, Chrysaora quinquecirrha, moon jellyfish or common jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, and lion’s mane jellyfish, Cyanea capillata.
Jellyfish have a transparent, gelatinous body and an umbrella-shaped bell called a medusa. Tentacles with stinging cells hang from the bell. The stinging cells are called nematocysts.
Sea nettles have a smooth, milky white bell that grows to about 4 inches in diameter. Up to 24 tentacles hang from under the bell.
The moon jellyfish is the Bay’s largest jellyfish. It can grow 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Hundreds of short tentacles hang like fringe from the bell’s edge.
The lion’s mane jellyfish has a broad, flattened bell and eight clusters of short tentacles. The bell is usually orange-brown and grows to about the same size as the sea nettle.
