I MENTIONED recently that the dragonfly was a sort of tiger of the pond and later received an interesting letter from John Blenkinsop, who remembered working with me and the late John Clegg, an expert on fresh water biology.

"I agree with you," wrote John. "But there is a rival to the dragonfly larvae for the king of the pond. What about the great diving beetle?"

It is more than 20 years since John and I worked together. He was right then and he is right now.

Although much less common than the dragonfly, the great diving beetle, which has the scientific name of Dytiscus marginales, is a real killer. It is as much as 10cms (4ins) long and has powerful jaws which can kill animals bigger than itself.

It is easy to identify by its size and by the fact that the male has yellow margins around the upper parts of its body.

Other records this week have been sent in by Tony Lees, Anita Wilson, Joyce Neild, Amanda Crawley (who is 11) and Fred Smithies (who is 83). You are never too old or too young to be a naturalist.

Sightings in Rossendale, Burnley, Nelson and Colne:

BIRDS -- Short-eared owl, twite (above Bacup); kingfisher (Leeds to Liverpool Canal at Brierfield); tawny owl, treecreeper, jay, sparrowhawk (Towneley); reed bunting, little grebe, lapwing, golden plover (Foulridge).

MAMMALS -- Fox (Bacup); stoat (Cliviger); roe deer (Towneley); hedgehog, short tailed field vole (Foulridge).

OTHER ANIMALS -- Toad (Towneley); caddis fly, hover fly, meadow brown butterfly (Foulridge).

PLANTS -- Giant bellflower, goosegrass, herb robert (Cliviger); spleenwort, wall rue, red campion, yarrow (Towneley); lords and laides in red berry,water mint (Hurstwood).

Sightings in Darwen, Blackburn, Accrington and Oswaldtwistle:

BIRDS -- Redshank, curlew, buzzard (Darwen Moor); large flocks of chaffinches, redstart, green woodpecker (Roddlesworth); dipper, grey wagtail (River Darwen at Ewood); collared dove, kestrel (Blackburn Cathedral).

MAMMALS -- Stoat (Witton Park); hedgehog, pipistrelle bat (Foxhill Bank).

OTHER ANIMALS --Peacock, green veined, white and meadow brown butterflies (Witton Park).

PLANTS -- Foxglove, groundsel, herb robert, blinks, red campion (Pleasington); water mint, monkey flower, hedge woundwort, yarrow (Oswaldtwistle).

Sightings in the Ribble Valley:

BIRDS -- Short eared owl, wheatear, skylark, dunlin, little owl (Waddington Fell); jay, sparrowhawk, reed bunting, green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, lapwing, peregrine (Chatburn).

MAMMALS -- Badger, hedgehog, mink, roe deer (Clitheroe); brown hare (Chatburn).

OTHER ANIMALS -- Golden ringed dragonfly, wasp, hover fly, elephant hawk moth larvae feeding on rosebay willow herb, peacock butterfly (Downham).

PLANTS -- Harebell, wild strawberry still in fruit, self heal (Chatburn); marjoram, water mint, water crowfoot (Brungerley and West Bradford).