FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
Most of us, when we go to the Smokies, we're looking for something big, furry, and black like what I just got done talking about. We've usually got our eyes up instead of looking on the ground. Well sometime the best shows are played out on the ground by the smaller things. That is what happens in this story. On our way to Grotto Falls we stopped for a short air and water break. As I was looking on the ground I saw this 4-inch purple salamander come down a tree root. (You can see him here in the upper right of this first picture.) A couple of feet below him was this type of bee. I'm not an insect expert so I couldn't tell you what kind of bee he was but I can safely say I don't think he was the stinging kind.
Anyway the salamander came down the tree and onto the ground and something happened I never expected. The salamander made a quick right-hand turn and went charging after the bee, at one point grabbing the rear of the abdomen in his jaws. I was amazed because the bee was 4 times larger than the salamander's head.
The first picture above was taken after the first attack, the reason being that I never expected it to happen. This next picture shows the second attack. The bee gets slowed down by a small twig. The salamander sees his chance and makes a lunge for the rear end of the bee again just as I hit the shutter button. I was really surprised as how vicious the salamander was attacking. When you pick them up and play with them you never really expect them to have the kind of dark side this one was showing in this case.

The bee kept ahead of the salamander but the small purpleish amphibian was not about to give up making another lunge. I'm sure at this point the bee was wishing he had a stinger so that he could have given the salamander the bad taste in his mouth during the first attack. With each move the bee made the salamander attacked time after time. Personally I don't know the diet a salamander has although I'm sure small bugs are part of their diet. I just didn't know they went after something this big.
At this point the bee gave himself a little bit of breathing room. Looking at the salamander, it kind of gave me the impression he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do next. There was no doubt he was really hungry and wanted to do the family size dinner but maybe he was taking on more than he could. After all, this guy was really big and wouldn't even fit in his mouth. There weren't any doggie bags around to take anything home to the kids or the wifey. And maybe he just wanted to catch his breath a little bit. I would love to know what was going on in that mind.

Like a big cat stalking his prey the salamander made another lunge but for some reason stopped just short of the bee. I don't really know what the salamander might have been thinking at this point. He had a wide open shot at the bee and might have even been able to put him down at this point. The bee seemed to have a broken left wing and was unable to even get off the ground at all. For several seconds neither creature moved, both trying to figure out what the other was going to do next. Was this the bee's last stand or would the salamander make the kill at this point???
It was here where the bee made his best move of the whole affair. Nearby was a small cluster of shamrocks and the bee ducked in under the small umbrella-like plants. (You can see part of him just left of center.) The salamander also dove into the patch of clovers but this time the bee had a larger branch he could crawl up and over for his escape. He made the climb and reached safety as the salamander was left to ponder why he didn't make his move at the last stop when he was just an inch away. It would be another day where the salamander would have to wait for lunch.
What I was wishing for the whole time that I watched this was one of the high-definition video cameras like those used by National Geographic and The Discovery Channel. This was a series that definitely would have fit right into the likings and the kind of footage I'm sure they would have jumped for. I realize the pictures aren't quite National Geographic quality but for this story they'll do quite nicely.
The moral of the story is this. The next time you're out taking a walk look under your feet once in a while. You might just see a whole new world and see something that nobody else will. It's definitely worth the look......%-)