Photographer Robin Loznak and his wife Carisa Cegavske, of Elkton, are longtime fans of “The Lord of the Rings.” ...

While walking Hobbit Beach near Florence on Sunday, photographer Robin Loznak spotted around 100 Velella velella washed ashore.

But velellas are nowhere near as dangerous to humans as their larger cousins. While both use dangling tentacles to feast on their prey, the velella's stinging cells (called nematocysts) are ...

Hundreds of thousands of Velella velella, more commonly known as by-the-wind-sailors, are drifting onto the coastline. Beachcombers say they look like "blue diamonds strewn across the beach." ...

But velellas are nowhere near as dangerous to humans as their larger cousins. While both use dangling tentacles to feast on their prey, the velella's stinging cells (called nematocysts) are harmless ...