The relationship between predator and prey is dependent on resource availability, the predators' hunting strategy, the prey's suite of antipredatory mechanisms, and the complexity of the habitat. We conducted a laboratory experiment to evaluate background preferences by tadpoles of Bufo woodhousii Girard and the predaceous water bug Belostoma lutarium Stål (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae). Our results indicate that 1) tadpoles switched preference away from black backgrounds when a chemical signal from B. lutarium was introduced, 2) earlier stage tadpoles exhibited a stronger effect than later stage tadpoles in the presence of the predator's chemical signal, 3) hemipterans were observed randomly on both backgrounds but were mostly found associated with vegetative cover, and 4) B. lutarium killed significantly more tadpoles on dark backgrounds compared to light backgrounds.