With the end of the year right around the corner, we’ve been “sifting” through some of our best shelling stories of 2025 and this one that we published in June is definitely in the running for the best shelling story that was shared with us.
Here is the version of the story about 8-year-old Ella Cline that was published on June 13:
The smile says it all.
Eight-year-old Ella Cline was beaming the day she had her photograph taken holding the junonia shell she found on Fort Myers Beach in May.
Ella Cline, 8, found her first junonia shell on Fort Myers Beach on May 31, 2025. She and her family were on vacation. They live in Las Vegas.
Ella and her family were on vacation, making the trip from their home in Las Vegas to the Sunshine State.
What is ironic about this junonia find is that Ella and her mother had no idea of the significance of the discovery until they made a trip the Bailey Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island.
“Ella saw a photo of one (at the museum) and said she found one of those − and the lady said ‘No it was probably something similar,’ ” Katherine said. “She and Ella went back and forth. And I was like, ‘No, she really did (find a junonia) and I showed the photos of the shells we found cleaned and laid out at the end of each day.”
If Ella’s smile holding the junonia she found was priceless, so was the reaction of the woman at the museum.
“She was so shocked and she was the one to tell us to report the finding and she told her (Ella) how rare it was − that it was the Jewel of Florida − that finding a 4-leaf clover was easier to find,” Katherine said.
Needless to say, that reaction led to another reaction.
“My daughter was beyond excited,” Katherine said.
Ella found her junonia on May 26 (Memorial Day) on Madison Street.
These are just some of the shells 8-year-old Ella Cline collected when she and her family were vacation at Fort Myers Beach in May. She is from Las Vegas. One of her finds was the rare junonia shell.
“We were looking around the edge of the water around 5-6 p.m.,” Katherine said. “It’s around 4 inches long. It’s a little chipped on the edge and missing the pointed end.”
The trip back home required some extra special care when packing up the junonia and all of the shells Ella found while she was here.
“We used lots of bubble wrap and a Glad container,” Katherine said. “Ella cleared off a spot on her dresser and has it on display. She Face-timed some of her friends to show them and we found a magnet and a sticker of a junonia at the shell museum that she can take with her to show off. She calls it the Jewel.”
Share your junonia story and photo!
We love a good junonia story. If you find a junonia or have found a junonia shell, we’d love to here your story and see a photo. Email mbickel@gannett.com with details of where and when you found the junonia and what the discovery means to you.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Where are the best beaches to find junonia shells on Sanibel Island?