Water tiger The humidity and rain broke last night, and this morning dawned clear and cool, almost chilly—and just about perfect for my walk with the incoming environmental education teachers at the University of Rhode Island's W. Alton Jones campus, a place that inspired me to pursue a natural history career more than 40 years ago. In recent years, I've gotten a chance to return the favor, and several times a year, it's my great joy and privilege to be able to take the teachers out into the field to show them whatever I can. Hopefully, they come away with both increased knowledge and excitement for teaching and learning. I know I do. After a fine walk through the woods, we came to a spot I love: Bubbling Spring, a semi-permanent, crystal-clear pond filled with all sorts of amphibians and insects. One of them was a very large "water tiger," the larvae of the Predaceous Diving Beetle. The "tiger" has a special fondness for tadpoles, and when it nabs one with its ice-tong jaws, it injects digestive enzymes into its doomed prey and liquifies the tadpole's innards. The predator then slurps up the slurry and leaves behind wrinkled skin.