163 



The fauna! association of the moors is also peculiar, in- 

 cluding among birds, the Grouse, the Merlin, the Ring Ouzel 

 and the Twite ; among beetles numerous forms such as 

 Haltica ericeti, and the weevil (Ceuthorhynchus erica) ; saw- 

 flies, hemipterons, and spiders, as well as the Viper amongst 

 Reptiles. The heath-frequenting Lepidoptera, besides being 

 restricted to special moorland plants, are also restricted to 

 habitats but little altered by man. For centuries the moors 

 have remained as they are now, and moreover unlike birds 

 or mammals, the insects have never been disturbed. We 

 feel, therefore, that any conclusions we may deduce from 

 their distribution, which is better known than that of any 

 other order of insects, will be found to be of permanent 

 value. 



The subject of fauna! associations has had to be treated 

 somewhat cursorily, not only owing to lack of space but also 

 from the circumstance that very much more zoological work yet 

 remains to be done in Cleveland, before exact and accurate 

 comparisons can be made. Interesting results Mould be 

 bound to appear, and would throw light, on the local distri- 

 bution of various animals and their past history. 



It may be remarked that the nature of our woods, 

 when the natural origin of these is disputed, may be inferred 

 from the insect fauna. Recently planted woods of con- 

 iferous and deciduous trees in different parts of the district 

 never contain the Wood Ant {Formica rufa). This insect, 

 so far as my observations go, is confined to localities on the 

 edge or slope of moorland valleys, and the ant hills may often 

 be seen on the open moor far enough away from any wood. 

 The Wood Ant is not a moorland insect, and in one place, 

 Great Hograh Beck in Basedale, its nests are extremely 

 numerous along the sides of that wooded ravine. All the 

 evidence goes to show that this wood is natural, and that 

 wherever the nests of the Wood Ant occur, even if no trees 

 be now near (as in the lower heathery parts of Basedale), 

 they indicate the presence of former woodland. 



In concluding this section, it is evident that in the same 

 manner as the botanist speaks of ecological botany, so the 

 zoologist can speak of ecological zoology. That is, the ascer- 

 tainment of the species of animals of any particular habitat, 



