Which of these creatures is known as the deadly monster "sea wasp"?

A long time ago (Sep/Oct '79) I was on holiday in Menton, a small French town right on the Italian border, during which there was a mother of a storm. While walking back from a large deserted beach I'd discovered just over the border in Italy I took 3 photos: 1) blue skies & brilliant sunshine; 2) ominous looking clouds on the horizon; 3) pitch black. My room was a little way up a steep hill just by the border, so I managed to get to shelter within 5'. It lasted the best part of 3 days, caused major landslides, 3-5 deaths and destroyed the wine harvest. In the evening of the day after the storm I was swimming towards a little diving platform anchored about 50m offshore, with a spliff in a jam jar tied to my goggles, doing backstroke. I thought it'd be nice to smoke it looking at the twilit shore. I don't know what made me stop & turn just then, some sixth sense?, but something did & there was a massive jellyfish right in front of me! Its body was about 1m across, the thick coils at least that & its tentacles at least 2m. It was as beautiful as it was scary. I swear I'm not exaggerating, 1 more stroke & I would have swum right into it! I guess it had been washed in by the storm, I'd never seen anything like it even in aqiariums. Thankfully something made me stop when I did. I still wonder whether it was just dumb luck (or bad luck that it was directly in my path) or some strange subconscious sense. It was an eerie experience, still one of my most vivid memories.

now you know why I stay out of the water!!!

I remember in Australia being told the coastal turtles had been killed off by humans. The turtles were predators for the box jellyfish. Without the turtles, the population of jellyfish got out of control.

JezzerLX, That's more proof that Politicians are direct decendants of them.

Almost invisible in the water

Saint Nine, so did you smoke the spiff before or after this incident?

In my early 20's, I went to the beach with a new friend. She and I and our 3 year olds were enjoying the water, when I turned around and suddenly saw hundreds of jellyfish in close proximity. I started telling to her to get out, while I struggled in the water to take our little ones to shore. I've been stung before. It's painful and lasts for hours.

great info!

Just recently in The Philippines, a girl had died when she got stung by box jelly fish. Her cousin also got hospitalised and luckily survived.

Player en_846, people....

Saint Nine, still those jelly fish are quite harmless in comparison with the one described above..

Saint Nine, amazing cool story

Centenarian, have "they" quit recording deaths from these jellyfish after 1996????

So.... why the picture of a honey bee?

wow! I'll remember that!

millwallmarty, omg..i worked on prawn trawler as a decky in early 90s..we did not use globes for sorting...yikes! i was stung once by a box catfish..think had spikes .. i couldnt mobe my arm..agony for hours. i wore a bathing suit..when did you do that?

Toisha, 😂