Science Olympiad Entomology Practice Exam

Wing venation patterns are a useful clue for identifying bee families. In the forewing, the submarginal cells are the small wing chambers near the leading edge formed by veins. When three of these submarginal cells line up, they can create a curved, bow-like shape along the wing. This bow-like arrangement is a classic hallmark of sweat bees, the Halictidae. The veins and cell boundaries in Halictidae produce that distinctive curved trio, which helps distinguish them from other groups. Think about how the other options differ in wing venation: Sphecidae (thread-waisted wasps) have a different configuration of cells that doesn’t form that bow shape. Ixodidae are ticks and lack wings entirely. Sphingidae are moths with wing patterns and venation not characterized by three submarginal cells forming a bow in the forewing. So the bow-like three submarginal cells point to Halictidae.