Question: Hi, When jellyfish sting you do they die like wasps ? Do jellyfish have a stinger that goes into you ???

Jasmine answered on 7 Nov 2018:

They don’t die when they sting, they can keep stinging for ever and ever.

Jellyfish sting because they have hundreds and thousands of special cells on their tentacles. Each cell has a tiny needle inside which shoots out and sticks into your skin when you touch a jellyfish. Not only does the tiny needle hurt when it pricks you but the special cells also contain venom and the tiny needle works just the same as when you have an injection. When the tiny needle pierces your skin the venom is injected into you. The venom is transported around your body in your bloodstream and, if the sting is very serious, you might start to feel sick or you might develop a headache. Most of the time though it won’t be this serious and you might feel an itch or you might feel like you’ve been stung by nettles. These special cells can’t be seen with the naked eye. You have to use a microscope to see them and this is what I do in my lab.

When a jellyfish dies, it can keep stinging because it still has these special cells on their tentacles. However, when it dies, it stops making new cells so eventually it will run out and won’t be able to sting anymore.