ALL ANSWERS · INSECTS · DAILY No. 35 · OCTOBER 8, 2026
Size It Up Insects answer: October 8
The five Insects silhouettes for October 8, 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 35 ran from a human flea (1.95 mm) to a giant swallowtail (17.5 cm). The widest gap was round 3, Heath Bumblebee against Human Flea, at 7.2×; the closest call was round 2, Firebrat against Common Wasp, only 1.7× apart — the kind of round that separates a 90 from a 60.
SPOILER · TODAY’S FIVE
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ROUND 1
Devil's Flower Mantis (adult female) vs Great Diving Beetle (adult)
Great Diving Beetle · reference · 4.4 cm Devil's Flower Mantis · true length · 13 cm 3.0× longer than the great diving beetle
Devil's Flower Mantis: 130 mm body length for the selected adult female. Published adult female length about 130 mm; males reach about 100 mm. Head to wing tip along the body axis; antennae and the raptorial forelegs are excluded.
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ROUND 2
Firebrat (adult) vs Common Wasp (large adult)
Common Wasp · reference · 2 cm Firebrat · true length · 1.15 cm 1.7× shorter than the common wasp
Firebrat: 11.5 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 11.5 mm within the published adult range 10-15 mm. Head to abdomen tip; antennae, tail filaments and legs excluded.
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ROUND 3
Heath Bumblebee (adult) vs Human Flea (adult)
Human Flea · reference · 1.95 mm Heath Bumblebee · true length · 1.4 cm 7.2× longer than the human flea
Heath Bumblebee: 14 mm body length for the selected adult. Selected 14 mm from the published 12–16 mm length. This is the range midpoint, not a species-wide average. Head to abdomen tip; wings, legs and antennae excluded.
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ROUND 4
Giant Swallowtail (adult male · open wings) vs Brown Hawker (adult)
Brown Hawker · reference · 7.3 cm Giant Swallowtail · true wingspan · 17.5 cm 2.4× wider than the brown hawker
Giant Swallowtail: 175 mm wingspan for the selected adult male. Selected 175 mm for a large male; the published male wingspan averages about 150 mm and reaches 190 mm. Furthest left to furthest right wingtip with wings spread; trailing hindwing tails do not define this span.
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ROUND 5
American Cockroach (adult) vs Wasp Beetle (adult)
Wasp Beetle · reference · 1.6 cm American Cockroach · true length · 4 cm 2.5× longer than the wasp beetle
American Cockroach: 40 mm body length for the selected adult. Published average adult head-to-abdomen length 40 mm (Biodiversity of Singapore, Diagnosis). Head to abdomen tip; 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.