I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Galveston. It was so relaxing, sitting on the beach, listening to the waves and watching the birds. The beach is such a peaceful place and Galveston is very close to my heart because my husband and I got married there! Although I escaped with nothing but a few mosquito bites (my husband was not as lucky!), I got to thinking about bugs at the beach and the horror stories I have heard. I’ve heard about sand flies, sand fleas, sea lice; all kinds of crazy stuff. I decided to do a little research to see what was true and what was nothing but beach bug lore. I was absolutely shocked at some of the things I read, especially when Googling “sand fleas”! Most of the things I found were contradictory, inaccurate, and just plain ridiculous! The biggest problem seems to be the confusion between all of the common names. People in different parts of the world may refer to the same organism as several different things. That’s why scientists use Latin scientific names that are consistent across the world. So, here it is, the skinny on some of those beach pests we all hear about, what you should worry about, and what is no big deal!

Sea Lice

photo credit: brainware3000

Well here’s a misnomer for you! I’ve never even heard of sea lice, but one of my co-workers mentioned them while I was researching. Many of you may have heard of them because apparently they can be quite a problem! It’s a misnomer because the real sea lice are tiny crustaceans that live in the ocean and feed on certain types of fish, but don’t bother humans at all. What we call sea lice are actually larvae of jellyfish that float around in clouds in the ocean. Although they are tiny, they still possess those nasty stinging cells or nematocysts. If you’re swimming in the ocean, they can become trapped between your bathing suit and skin. This is when you can be stung. The stings cause intense itching and burning which result in a rash with small raised blisters.  The rash can last anywhere from two days to two weeks, but most of the time they go away with no medical attention necessary, just lots of cortisone cream and Benadryl! Sea lice are common along the gulf coast, the Caribbean islands, Mexico and South America. Most beaches have warnings if the waters are heavily infested. The season for these pesky baby jellyfish usually runs from April through August.

Sand Fleas

It took me forever to get to the bottom of this one. I asked people I knew if they’d ever been bothered by what are known as “sand fleas”. The general consensus was, no. I read some of the most ridiculous things, however. I read that they attack your feet and burrow into your skin. I read that they attack fish and kill them. I read that they are crustaceans with wings, that feed on seaweed and also suck blood, but only from your feet. What?!?! So, this is what they really are. The common sand flea (Orchestia agilis) is an amphipod, or a small, terrestrial, shrimp-like crustacean. They burrow into the sand and they feed on decaying plant and animal matter that washes up on the shore, especially seaweed. They do not want anything to do with people. They obviously are not fleas, not even insects. However, they jump, similar to the way fleas do and they live in the sand, so hence the name sand flea. They are found all along the Atlantic coast, so you’ve probably seen them before. There is a more malicious animal that sometimes goes by the name sand flea, but more often is referred to as the chigoe flea. Tunga penetrans is actually a type of flea, but they are not like the more common cat flea that bites our domesticated pets. They are the smallest known species of flea. The chigoe flea lives in soil and in sand. They feed on the feet of warm blooded hosts such as humans, dogs, cattle, sheep and mice. When the female is ready to reproduce, she will burrow into the skin of the host, which is where she stays until after she releases her eggs, in about two weeks. After this, she dies and is sloughed off with the skin of the host. They can jump no higher than 20 centimeters, so they usually burrow into the foot or ankle. So, this is a little creepy, but don’t worry, they’re only native to the tropics, such as Central and South America.

Sand Flies

Horsefly photo credit: Radu P

This is a pretty general term that can really refer to any biting fly you would encounter at the beach, besides a mosquito. This could even be a type of horsefly that is associated with that type of habitat. Most commonly, the name sandfly refers to flies in the family Ceratopogonidae. These are small biting midges, only 1-4 millimeters in length that live in aquatic habitats all over the world. Like mosquitoes, it is only the female that sucks blood to get protein in preparation for laying her eggs. The bite itself is too small to feel. It’s not until later when your skin starts to react with the proteins in their saliva that you start to feel the itch.  Because they go unnoticed, they can bite you a lot, that’s why they are such a pest! Bug spray is sufficient protection against these flies, but I never wear bug spray and haven’t been bothered by them, so I don’t think they’re much of a problem around us.

Salt marsh mosquitoes

I’m sure almost everyone has run to the car to get away from these vicious mosquitoes and their painful bites! Aedes taeniorhynchus and Aedes sollicitans are two common species found along the Texas coast. They lay their eggs in brackish and saltwater pools left over from the tides. There is no mystery about these ladies. They’re big, they’re hungry and they will come after you any time of the day whether you’re swatting at them or not. They are larger than many freshwater mosquitoes so they’re bites actually sting a bit. In other parts of the world, they are vectors of Venezuelan and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Luckily, in our area, this is not a problem, but they are a prime vector of dog heartworm, so if you live near the beach, keep your dogs on a heartworm preventative.

I certainly had my fair share of them at the beach, which is what got me thinking about other parasites that may be lurking at some of our favorite vacation destinations. My conclusion: wear bug spray and heed any warnings at the beach and you should be in tip-top shape. You’ll hopefully leave with nothing worse than a minor sunburn and relatively few mosquito bites! Until next time, happy bug watching!