Glass-like creatures washing ashore in Myrtle Beach area. Be careful – they sting
They look like pieces of fiberglass piled up along the sand in the Myrtle Beach area.
While they look and feel like fiberglass, this unusual scene that has been washing up on the beaches in the last week is actually sea butterflies. And while they don’t fly, they do hurt.
Beachgoers have been reporting seeing long, needle-like pieces of shell that look like fiberglass or fish bones coming ashore, gathering in piles where the tide has left debris lines. They are actually shells of a group of swimming snails called pteropods, or sea butterflies.
The snails can cause stings to swimmers when the shells penetrate a bathing suit, according to the University of Florida. The sting feels like that of a bee.
Those on social media in the North Myrtle Beach area have reported that the shells have become stuck in their bathing suit while swimming. Others have said that they have been stung when they stepped on the shells, which feel like needles, on the beach.
Marine biologists report that sea butterflies usually wash ashore during a change in currents or a storm pushing them on the beach.
Hurricane Erin, which passed by the Grand Strand on Wednesday, has caused hazardous ocean conditions such as strong swell — longer-period waves — and rip currents.
Christy James Reise, who lives in Little River, posted on Facebook about her family’s encounter with the sea butterflies.
Reise said that her daughter had several stuck in her feet while they were hunting for shark’s teeth.
“She said they were painful,” Reise said. “She was able to remove them on her own.”
Reise posted a photo of the needle-like shells which were lying on top of the sand.
Reise was among a number of people who have posted about the shells in several Myrtle Beach area groups.
“Hopefully they will be gone soon,” she said.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 10:43 AM.
