Striking Blue Dragon Nudibranch Sea Slugs Wash Ashore On NSW North Coast Beaches

A striking blue dragon sea slug that eats bluebottles and can give a powerful sting has been washing ashore and capturing the imagination of residents on the north coast of New South Wales.

Dr Gershwhin said the blue dragon sea slug's favourite food was bluebottles and other pelagic creatures. She said it meant the nudibranch packed a powerful sting, as it could store the bluebottle stinging cells in its 'fingers'. "When they are floating and come into their prey … they just start munching away," she said. "They are able to store the stinging cells from their prey, that is, bluebottles, in their little … fingers and toes and then use them for their own defence. I've been nailed by them, they hurt." (Bluebottles are washed onshore by strong winds and this summer have appeared on a range of east coast beaches.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)