DAILY NO. 18 · VERIFIED MEASUREMENTS
Today's five insects & bugs Size It Up comparisons with the measured size of each object, its reference and a source you can check. The puzzle is still live, so every answer stays hidden until you tap it. Haven't played yet? Play today's puzzle first.
The October 9, 2026 puzzle ran from a praying mantis at 10 cm to a giant centipede at 30 cm — about 3× apart, drawing on insects & bugs. The pair furthest apart was round 2: a large dragonfly is about 1.3× smaller than a hard-shell taco.
Answer: Praying Mantis — 10 cm. A praying mantis measures 10 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a monarch butterfly 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 monarch butterfly — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Large Dragonfly — 12 cm. A large dragonfly measures 12 cm (length / span), which is about 1.3× smaller than the reference, a hard-shell taco at 15 cm.
Dragonflies catch their prey on over ninety per cent of attempts, the best hit rate of any predator.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a large dragonfly when it sits beside a hard-shell taco — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Giant Wētā — 10 cm. A giant wētā measures 10 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a hamburger at 10 cm.
One of the heaviest insects on Earth — a large female outweighs a sparrow.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a giant wētā 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 almost exactly the same size as the reference, an American football at 28 cm.
Atlas moths have some of the largest wings of any insect.
Common miss: players tend to inflate an Atlas moth wingspan when it sits beside an American football — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Giant Centipede — 30 cm. A giant centipede measures 30 cm (length / span), which is 1.2× as big as the reference, an NBA basketball at 24.3 cm.
Scolopendra gigantea hunts bats in mid-air, plucking them from cave ceilings.
Common miss: players tend to compress a giant centipede when it sits beside an NBA basketball — 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.