DAILY NO. 9 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
The five insects & bugs objects from the Size It Up puzzle on September 9, 2026, with the measured size of each, the reference it was compared against, a source you can check, and how the community's guesses landed. Want the surprise first? Replay this puzzle — archived days never touch your streak.
Answer: a ladybird beetle measures 1 cm (length / span), which is about 1.3× smaller than the reference, a leafcutter ant at 1.3 cm.
One ladybird can eat several thousand aphids in a lifetime.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a ladybird beetle when it sits beside a leafcutter ant — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: a praying mantis measures 10 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a hamburger at 10 cm.
A mantis can turn its head almost all the way round, which few insects manage.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a praying mantis when it sits beside a hamburger — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: a Goliath birdeater measures 28 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, an American football at 28 cm.
Its leg span can be wider than a dinner plate.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a Goliath birdeater when it sits beside an American football — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: a monarch butterfly measures 10 cm (length / span), which is 1.3× as big as the reference, a chocolate chip cookie at 8 cm.
Monarchs migrate as far as 4,000 km on a 10 cm wingspan.
Common miss: players tend to compress a monarch butterfly when it sits beside a chocolate chip cookie — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: a giant stick insect measures 56 cm (length / span), which is 1.3× as big as the reference, a computer keyboard at 44 cm.
Record stick insects can exceed half a metre with legs extended.
Common miss: players tend to compress a giant stick insect when it sits beside a computer keyboard — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Sizes are measured along the axis named in each round and link to their published source. Explore the full library by category, or read how scoring works.