"The inhabitants," says he, "of that which I selected, kept within during the day, or only went out by subterranean galleries which opened at some feet distance in the meadow. There were, however, two or three small openings on the surface of the nest; but I saw none of the labourers pass out this way, on account of their being too much exposed to the sun, which these insects greatly dread. This ant-hill, which had a round form, rose in the grass, at the border of a path, and had sustained no injury. I soon perceived that the freshness of the air and the dew invited the ants to walk over the surface of their nest; they began making new apertures; several ants might be seen arriving at the same time, thrusting their heads from the entrances, moving about their antennæ, and at length adventuring forth to visit the environs. "This brought to my recollection a singular opinion of the ancients. They believed that ants were occupied in their architectural labours during the night, when the moon was at its full."[CS] M. Latreille discovered a species of ants which were, so far as he could ascertain, completely blind,[CT] and of course it would be immaterial to them whether they worked by night or during the day. All observers indeed agree that ants labour in the night, and a French naturalist is therefore of opinion that they never sleep--a circumstance which is well ascertained with respect to other animals, such as the shark, which will track a ship in full sail for weeks together.[CU] The ingenious historian of English ants, Gould, says they never intermit their labours by night or by day, except when compelled by excessive rains. It is probable the ancients were mistaken in asserting that they only work when the moon shines;[CV] for, like bees, they seem to find no difficulty in building in the dark, their subterranean apartments being as well finished as the upper stories of their buildings. But to proceed with the narrative of M. P. Huber. "Having thus noticed the movements of these insects during the night, I found they were almost always abroad and engaged about the dome of their habitation after sunset. This was directly the reverse of what I had observed in the conduct of the wood-ants (_F. rufa_), who only go out during the day, and close their doors in the evening. The contrast was still more remarkable than I had previously supposed; for, upon visiting the brown ants some days after, during a gentle rain, I saw all their architectural talents in full play.