Junonia, horse conches found on Captiva
Brandi Beckett, of Ripley, Ohio, found a junonia on July 12 at about 3:30 p.m. on Turner Beach on Captiva. It was her family’s third year visiting Sanibel on their vacation. Beckett walked down toward the rocks with her daughter, Courtney, and her brother, Carl. She reported that there were many shells — and she got plenty — but the waves were washing up large amounts of them. “My daughter and I made a little game out of trying to grab the shells quick enough,” Beckett said. “One of them was the junonia, and I actually didn’t know exactly what I had yet. I knew it was a good one.” Her fiance, Andrew Saulet, knew exactly what it was and explained to Beckett that she had found the rarest shell. “All the shells on Sanibel are beautiful, but I’m proud of this interesting rare shell,” she said. Beckett added that she is excited to visit the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum next year when it is open so she can learn more about her junonia. To report a shell find, contact 239-472-1587 or trepecki@breezenewspapers.com.