Scientific Name: Bulbaeolidia alba
Common Name: White-tipped Bubble Aeolid

Adult Size: 12 – 25 mm
Depth Range: 2 – 30 m; frequently on lagoon reefs and sandy slopes with hydroid growth
Biotope / Habitat: Hydroid-covered rubble, dead coral branches, and jetty pilings where prey colonies flourish
Diet: Specialist feeder on small thecate hydroids such as Pennaria and Sertularella; retains the hydroids’ stinging cells (nematocysts) in the cerata for defence
Reproduction: Simultaneous hermaphrodite; mates flank-to-flank and lays a thin, whitish ribbon of eggs coiled on or near the host hydroid. Veliger larvae drift planktonic before settling.
Fun Fact: The swollen, translucent cerata end in opaque white caps that resemble tiny pearls. When threatened, B. alba can shed these tips—complete with loaded nematocysts—to distract predators.

Slender and glass-clear, Bulbaeolidia alba is easy to miss until its white-capped cerata catch the light like sprinkled snow. Patient macro photographers are rewarded with a delicate subject that seems to float above its hydroid garden.