ALL ANSWERS · INSECTS · DAILY No. 25 · SEPTEMBER 28, 2026
Size It Up Insects answer: September 28
The five Insects silhouettes for September 28, 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 25 ran from a western flower thrips (1.4 mm) to a death's-head hawkmoth (11.8 cm). The widest gap was round 5, Death's-head Hawkmoth against Two-spot Ladybird, at 24×; the closest call was round 1, Head Louse against Western Flower Thrips, only 1.6× apart — the kind of round that separates a 90 from a 60.
SPOILER · TODAY’S FIVE
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ROUND 1
Head Louse (adult) vs Western Flower Thrips (adult female)
Western Flower Thrips · reference · 1.4 mm Head Louse · true length · 2.2 mm 1.6× longer than the western flower thrips
Head Louse: 2.2 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 2.2 mm within the published adult range 2-3 mm. Head to abdomen tip; antennae and legs excluded.
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ROUND 2
Orange-tip Butterfly (adult) vs Common Earwig (adult · pincers excluded)
Common Earwig · reference · 1.3 cm Orange-tip Butterfly · true wingspan · 4.6 cm 3.5× wider than the common earwig
Orange-tip Butterfly: 46 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 46 mm from the published 40–52 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 3
Pine Hawk-moth (adult) vs Heath Bumblebee (adult)
Heath Bumblebee · reference · 1.4 cm Pine Hawk-moth · true wingspan · 7.25 cm 5.2× wider than the heath bumblebee
Pine Hawk-moth: 72.5 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 72.5 mm midpoint of the published 65–80 mm wingspan range; not a species-wide average. Furthest left to furthest right wingtip with wings spread; legs and antennae excluded.
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ROUND 4
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (adult) vs Small White Butterfly (adult · open wings)
Small White Butterfly · reference · 4.8 cm Brown Marmorated Stink Bug · true length · 1.7 cm 2.8× shorter than the small white butterfly
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug: 17 mm body length for the selected adult. Published adult length about 17 mm. Head to abdomen tip; antennae and legs excluded. Dorsal outline rotated to align the body.
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ROUND 5
Death's-head Hawkmoth (adult · open wings) vs Two-spot Ladybird (adult)
Two-spot Ladybird · reference · 5 mm Death's-head Hawkmoth · true wingspan · 11.8 cm 24× wider than the two-spot ladybird
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.
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.