Last year, a Great Diving Beetle moved into my wildlife pond.
It's voracious appetite for anything that moves meant the tadpoles were decimated. I only built the pond last year and was so looking forward to a good amphibian presence.
I've just seen it swimming about.Bummer!

Hi Owlbynight.
On the positive side - good to have a great diving beetle.
I don't know anything about your pond but making sure there is a good balance of submerged vegetation and open water may help the tadpoles.

Have any frogs made it this year? As SCR says it is great to have the beetle, but a shame it can't be a little more willing to share!

Taddies still in early stages. Only one blob of spawn this year..I took it out of pond during bad frost then returned it and protected it with bubble wrap when it was frosty. Then one terrible morning it disappeared completely!! Couldn't see it anywhere.
Then last week my partner spotted the tadpoles sunbathing..brilliant moment!
Until the Evil one appeared ..vandals, football hooligans and psychos in all species I suppose but as Bogie said, of 'all the ponds in all the world'..why did it have to fly into mine? I know I shouldn't be species-ist but I really love frogs and made the mistake of reading how the GDB kills its prey..and its larvae are even worse!

Can you put a temporary partition across part of the pond, making sure that there are tadpoles on both sides, so that the ones in the bit where the Dytiscus marginalis isn't will have a greater chance of surviving.

This post was last modified: 25-04-2008 01:13 PM by wild canon.

A partition might work, at least a temporary one wold allow the tadpoles to grow a bit before they get attacked. Whether it would stop the beetle from moving sides I don't know.

Thanks for suggestions...I have M E and would find it difficult to make a partition.Also as Riana says I wonder if the beetle could move sides (it can fly after all!)
I have got a very large container and filled it with water and some pond weed and deposited some of the taddies in there. Will add more each time I go out. Have to think of something to make a platform for when the frogs emerge.