Bluebottles are appearing in big numbers on Bellarine and Port Phillip Bay beaches.
One local was astonished to hear a group of women talking about them, curious to what they were with one admitting to picking one up.
“Luckily she used a tissue and wasn’t stung,” the local said.
“I’ve seen them on beaches from St Leonards, Queenscliff to Wye River within the last few weeks.
“I just feel people should be warned. Also treatment has now changed if one has been stung. Once it was vinegar, now it is very hot water (about 45 degrees celsius).”
Also known as the Portuguese man o’ war, the bluebottle is well known to beachgoers for the painful stings delivered by its tentacles and it can sting even when beached.
