DAILY NO. 26 · 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 17, 2026 puzzle ran from a honey bee at 1.5 cm to an Atlas moth wingspan at 27 cm — about 18× apart, drawing on insects & bugs. The pair furthest apart was round 3: a monarch butterfly is 1.3× as big as an apple.
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: Goliath Beetle — 11 cm. A Goliath beetle measures 11 cm (length / span), which is 1.1× as big as the reference, a hamburger at 10 cm.
Among the heaviest insects alive — the larvae can reach 100 g.
Common miss: players tend to compress a Goliath beetle when it sits beside a hamburger — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Monarch Butterfly — 10 cm. A monarch butterfly measures 10 cm (length / span), which is 1.3× as big as the reference, an apple 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 an apple — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
Answer: Honey Bee — 1.5 cm. A honey bee measures 1.5 cm (length / span), which is almost exactly the same size as the reference, a mosquito at 1.5 cm.
A worker weighs about a tenth of a gram and cruises at 25 km/h.
Common miss: players tend to inflate a honey bee when it sits beside a mosquito — big things get squeezed, small familiar things get stretched.
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.
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.