ALL ANSWERS · INSECTS · DAILY No. 20 · SEPTEMBER 23, 2026
Size It Up Insects answer: September 23
The five Insects silhouettes for September 23, 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 20 ran from a flower longhorn beetle (7.3 mm) to a death's-head hawkmoth (11.8 cm). The widest gap was round 1, Death's-head Hawkmoth against Red-tailed Bumblebee, at 5.4×; the closest call was round 5, Southern Hawker against Monarch Butterfly, only 1.3× apart — the kind of round that separates a 90 from a 60.
SPOILER · TODAY’S FIVE
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ROUND 1
Death's-head Hawkmoth (adult · open wings) vs Red-tailed Bumblebee (adult)
Red-tailed Bumblebee · reference · 2.2 cm Death's-head Hawkmoth · true wingspan · 11.8 cm 5.4× wider than the red-tailed bumblebee
Death's-head Hawkmoth: 118 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 118 mm at the top of the published wingspan 80-120 mm. Furthest left to furthest right wingtip with wings spread; legs and antennae excluded.
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ROUND 2
Common Darter (adult) vs White-tailed Bumblebee (large adult)
White-tailed Bumblebee · reference · 2 cm Common Darter · true length · 4.05 cm 2.0× longer than the white-tailed bumblebee
Common Darter: 40.5 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 40.5 mm from the published 38–43 mm length. This is the range midpoint, not a species-wide average. Head to abdomen tip; wings and legs excluded.
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ROUND 3
Meadow Brown (adult) vs Common Eastern Firefly (adult)
Common Eastern Firefly · reference · 1.07 cm Meadow Brown · true wingspan · 5 cm 4.7× wider than the common eastern firefly
Meadow Brown: 50 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 50 mm from the published 40–60 mm wingspan. This is the range midpoint, not a species-wide average. Furthest left to furthest right wingtip with wings spread.
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ROUND 4
German Cockroach (adult) vs Flower Longhorn Beetle (adult)
Flower Longhorn Beetle · reference · 7.3 mm German Cockroach · true length · 1.3 cm 1.8× longer than the flower longhorn beetle
German Cockroach: 13 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 13 mm within published adult range 10–15 mm. Head to abdomen tip; antennae and legs excluded.
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ROUND 5
Southern Hawker (adult) vs Monarch Butterfly (adult · open wings)
Monarch Butterfly · reference · 9 cm Southern Hawker · true length · 7 cm 1.3× shorter than the monarch butterfly
Southern Hawker: 70 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 70 mm from the published 70 mm length. Head to abdomen tip; wings and legs excluded.
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.