THOSE who go out and about around some of the wetter local nature reserves may have noticed that the pools are currently teeming with life, pond skaters racing across the surface and newts gracefully swimming below.

Frogs have made their annual trip back to their favourite ponds, laid their spawn, and in many areas this has already hatched.

Even my garden pond is practically bubbling with the sheer numbers of tadpoles, scrambling for the warmest, shallowest areas and munching their way through the algae. The reason why there are so many tadpoles is because so many will be lost before they reach adulthood.

I was watching some tadpoles recently when something caught my attention. I noticed a dark shadow glide through the water from the corner of my eye. A few moments later the shadow rose up from the depths and settled at the surface. It was olive/green in colour and around 3.5cm in length. It was a great diving beetle. Fully grown, like this one, they are more than capable of catching a small fish - tadpoles would simply be an appetiser.

Diving beetles hunt by pushing themselves through the water with the aid of their hairy legs. The hairs line their legs, forming a paddle, allowing them to swim exceptionally well. Once prey is within their sight they snatch it in their needle-sharp mouth parts. Once held, enzymes are injected into the prey, turning it into a kind of soup, which is then sucked up. Unfortunately it is not only the beetle that relishes tadpoles, as their larvae are also equipped with the same weaponry and, at the size of a child's finger, they are relative giants in this underwater world.

The larvae of many other insects would also relish such a nutritious meal.

The larvae of the dragonfly is truly a formidable beast. Its long flattened body and six spidery legs make it ideally suited for stalking prey.

Under a microscope you may think you where observing some form of alien life. In fact the jaws of this creature where said to have influenced the monster from the Alien series of films.

The sharp pincers are set at the end of a long retractable arm and tucked away under the chin. This allows the larvae to creep up on its prey, then when in range shoot out its jaws, grab hold and pull its victim back for consumption.

At this point, maybe I should mention that should you see any of the creatures, my advice would be to leave well alone. Their jaws are more than capable of delivering a painful bite to inquisitive fingers.

There are so many more predators which threaten the tadpoles that I have nowhere near enough space to mention them all.

Tadpoles must endure attack from newts, fish, birds, water spiders, water scorpions - the list goes on and on. When you consider quite how many tadpoles must be lost, is it any wonder that the frogs produce so many young?