ALL ANSWERS · INSECTS · DAILY No. 28 · OCTOBER 1, 2026
Size It Up Insects answer: October 1
The five Insects silhouettes for October 1, 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 28 ran from a head louse (2.2 mm) to a peacock butterfly (6.9 cm). The widest gap was round 3, Rose Chafer against Head Louse, at 8.4×; the closest call was round 4, Small Tortoiseshell against Peacock 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
Wasp Beetle (adult) vs European Hornet (large adult)
European Hornet · reference · 3.5 cm Wasp Beetle · true length · 1.6 cm 2.2× shorter than the European hornet
Wasp Beetle: 16 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 16 mm from the published 16 mm length. Head to elytra tip; the long antennae and the legs are excluded. Outline rotated to align the body.
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ROUND 2
House Cricket (adult) vs Seven-spot Ladybird (adult)
Seven-spot Ladybird · reference · 6.6 mm House Cricket · true length · 2 cm 3.0× longer than the seven-spot ladybird
House Cricket: 20 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 20 mm within published house cricket length 19–22 mm. Head to abdomen tip; antennae, rear appendages and legs excluded.
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ROUND 3
Rose Chafer (adult) vs Head Louse (adult)
Head Louse · reference · 2.2 mm Rose Chafer · true length · 1.85 cm 8.4× longer than the head louse
Rose Chafer: 18.5 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 18.5 mm from the published 17–20 mm length. This is the range midpoint, not a species-wide average. Head to elytra tip; antennae and legs excluded.
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ROUND 4
Small Tortoiseshell (adult) vs Peacock Butterfly (adult · open wings)
Peacock Butterfly · reference · 6.9 cm Small Tortoiseshell · true wingspan · 5.35 cm 1.3× shorter than the peacock butterfly
Small Tortoiseshell: 53.5 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 53.5 mm from the published 45–62 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 5
Marmalade Hoverfly (adult) vs Migrant Hawker (adult)
Migrant Hawker · reference · 6.3 cm Marmalade Hoverfly · true length · 9.8 mm 6.4× shorter than the migrant hawker
Marmalade Hoverfly: 9.8 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 9.8 mm within the published adult range 9-12 mm. Head to abdomen tip; wings, antennae 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.