ALL ANSWERS · INSECTS · DAILY No. 13 · SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
Size It Up Insects answer: September 16
The five Insects silhouettes for September 16, with the true sizes. If you have not played yet, this page is a spoiler — play these five first, then come back to argue with the numbers.
Day 13 ran from a common fruit fly (2.5 mm) to a monarch butterfly (9 cm). The widest gap was round 2, Buff-tailed Bumblebee against Common Fruit Fly, at 8.4×; the closest call was round 5, Peacock Butterfly against Monarch Butterfly, only 1.3× apart — the kind of round that separates a 90 from a 60.
SPOILER · TODAY’S FIVE
You have not finished today’s puzzle on this device. The answers below are blurred so you can still play first.
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ROUND 1
Black Garden Ant (worker) vs Honeybee (adult)
Honeybee · reference · 1.2 cm Black Garden Ant · true length · 3 mm 4.0× shorter than the honeybee
Black Garden Ant: 3 mm body length for the selected worker. Published worker length 3 mm. Head to abdomen tip; antennae and legs excluded. Side outline rotated to align the body.
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ROUND 2
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (large adult) vs Common Fruit Fly (adult)
Common Fruit Fly · reference · 2.5 mm Buff-tailed Bumblebee · true length · 2.1 cm 8.4× longer than the common fruit fly
Buff-tailed Bumblebee: 21 mm body length for the selected large adult. Selected 21 mm within published 20–22 mm range. Head to abdomen tip; wings, legs and antennae excluded.
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ROUND 3
European Praying Mantis (adult) vs European Hornet (large adult)
European Hornet · reference · 3.5 cm European Praying Mantis · true length · 6 cm 1.7× longer than the European hornet
European Praying Mantis: 60 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 60 mm within published adult range 50–65 mm. Head to abdomen tip; antennae and grasping legs excluded.
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ROUND 4
Mourning Cloak (adult · open wings) vs German Cockroach (adult)
German Cockroach · reference · 1.3 cm Mourning Cloak · true wingspan · 8 cm 6.2× wider than the German cockroach
Mourning Cloak: 80 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 80 mm within published wingspan 2.5–3.5 inches (63.5–88.9 mm). Furthest left to furthest right wingtip with wings spread.
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ROUND 5
Peacock Butterfly (adult · open wings) vs Monarch Butterfly (adult · open wings)
Monarch Butterfly · reference · 9 cm Peacock Butterfly · true wingspan · 6.9 cm 1.3× shorter than the monarch butterfly
Peacock Butterfly: 69 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 69 mm within published wingspan 63–75 mm. Furthest left to furthest right wingtip with wings spread.
Beat these tomorrow
Every round is worth up to 100 points: within 6% of the true size scores 100, half or double scores 45, five times off scores zero. The daily puzzle is the same five for everyone and refreshes at midnight in your time zone; if you want more than five, Size It Up Unlimited draws fresh pairs from the whole library for as long as you like.