You may find one

Or you may find many;

I look like glass

But I feel like jelly.

What on earth am I?

I’m a moon snail egg sac.

Have you ever found a transparent horseshoe-shape, jelly-like lump on your beach wanders? I’ve had horrified friends tell me that not only did they find these on family camping trips, but that they were the number one weapon to chuck at their brother’s head during said family holiday! All those teeny moon snail eggs, hurled through the air, and bouncing off an annoying little brother’s skull. What a way to go!

The female moon snail snail lays her eggs at night, in a jelly-like substance and this absorbs water and swells up, protecting the thousands of tiny eggs inside. If you pick up the egg sac and hold it up to the light, you might even be able to see the tiny pin-prick sized eggs inside.

You’re most likely to see the egg sacs washed up in the Spring (so get ready to keep your eyes peeled. Everything’s better in Spring!). If they don’t wash up, they naturally disintegrate in the ocean over a few days and the moon snail larvae are released to… often be eaten. But the ones who make it will go on to create their own jelly egg sacs.