This article explores the entomological research of American astronomer Harlow Shapley (1885–1972). The focus is 1914–1921, the time that Shapley worked as a staff astronomer at Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California. The years 1919–1920 receive particular attention because they were the most active period for Shapley's ant experiments. During these years, Shapley undertook two primary programmes of study in ant physiology, each centred on a specific species native to Southern California—the velvety tree ant and the California harvester ant. Shapley's ant research was dependent upon the scientific environment of Mount Wilson Observatory because of several benefits and opportunities that the location offered him. The section ‘Observatory ants’ discusses the details of Shapley's research programme as well as the advantages given him by his location. The subsequent section, ‘Indoor ants’, discusses a change in environment for Shapley's ant experiments and how that change, from an outdoor to an indoor setting, changed the scope and nature of his research. This section also discusses the influences that Shapley's work came to have in the disciplines of entomology, ecology, general physiology, and behavioural science. The final section, ‘Living and non-living?’, discusses the impacts that Shapley's ant research came to have on his own later work concerning cosmic evolution and interdisciplinary co-operation among the sciences. In conclusion, we are left with evidence suggesting that Shapley's work in entomology was highly location-dependent while also possessing far-reaching consequences.

本文探讨了美国天文学家Harlow Shapley（1885–1972）的昆虫学研究。焦点是1914–1921年，当时Shapley在加利福尼亚州圣盖博山脉的威尔逊山天文台担任天文学家的工作。1919–1920年是特别重要的时期，因为它们是Shapley蚂蚁实验最活跃的时期。在这些年中，Shapley进行了两个蚂蚁生理学的主要研究计划，每个计划都集中在南加州本地的特定物种上，即天鹅绒树状蚂蚁和加利福尼亚收割性蚂蚁。Shapley的蚂蚁研究依赖于威尔逊山天文台的科学环境，因为该地点为他提供了许多好处和机会。“天文台蚂蚁”部分讨论了Shapley的详细信息 的研究计划以及他所处位置给他带来的好处。下一节“室内蚂蚁”讨论了Shapley蚂蚁实验环境的变化，以及从室外到室内的变化如何改变了他的研究范围和性质。本节还讨论了Shapley的工作对昆虫学，生态学，一般生理学和行为科学等学科产生的影响。最后一节“有生命和无生命？”讨论了沙普利的蚂蚁研究对他后来有关宇宙演化和科学之间跨学科合作的研究产生的影响。总之，我们剩下的证据表明，沙普利在昆虫学上的工作高度依赖于位置，同时还具有深远的影响。