DAILY NO. 3 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
The September 24, 2026 puzzle ran from a ladybird beetle at 1 cm to a giant centipede at 30 cm — about 30× apart, drawing on insects & bugs. The pair furthest apart was round 4: a ladybird beetle is about 1.5× smaller than a mosquito.
Puzzle #3 asked about a giant centipede, a monarch butterfly, an Atlas moth wingspan, a ladybird beetle and a large dragonfly. Each answer below gives the measured size, the reference it stood beside and the source behind the number. Want the surprise first? Replay this puzzle — archived days never touch your streak.
Answer: Giant Centipede — 30 cm. A giant centipede measures 30 cm (length / span), which is about 1.2× smaller than the reference, a laptop computer at 35 cm.
Scolopendra gigantea hunts bats in mid-air, plucking them from cave ceilings.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a giant centipede when it sits beside a laptop computer — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Monarch Butterfly — 10 cm. A monarch butterfly measures 10 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a hamburger at 10 cm.
Monarchs migrate as far as 4,000 km on a 10 cm wingspan.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a monarch butterfly when it sits beside a hamburger — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Atlas Moth Wingspan — 27 cm. An Atlas moth wingspan measures 27 cm (length / span), which is 1.1× as big as the reference, an NBA basketball at 24.3 cm.
Atlas moths have some of the largest wings of any insect.
Common miss: players tend to compress an Atlas moth wingspan when it sits beside an NBA basketball — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Ladybird Beetle — 1 cm. A ladybird beetle measures 1 cm (length / span), which is about 1.5× smaller than the reference, a mosquito at 1.5 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 mosquito — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Large Dragonfly — 12 cm. A large dragonfly measures 12 cm (length / span), which is 1.2× as big as the reference, a monarch butterfly at 10 cm.
Dragonflies catch their prey on over ninety per cent of attempts, the best hit rate of any predator.
Common miss: players tend to compress a large dragonfly when it sits beside a monarch butterfly — 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.