ALL ANSWERS · INSECTS · DAILY No. 44 · OCTOBER 17, 2026
Size It Up Insects answer: October 17
The five Insects silhouettes for October 17, 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 44 ran from a common fruit fly (2.5 mm) to a luna moth (9 cm). The widest gap was round 3, Heath Bumblebee against Luna Moth, at 6.4×; the closest call was round 2, Black Garden Ant against Common Fruit Fly, only 1.2× apart — the kind of round that separates a 90 from a 60.
SPOILER · TODAY’S FIVE
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ROUND 1
Stag Beetle (male · jaws included) vs House Cricket (adult)
House Cricket · reference · 2 cm Stag Beetle · true length · 6.5 cm 3.3× longer than the house cricket
Stag Beetle: 65 mm length including jaws for the selected male. Selected 65 mm within the published 50–75 mm adult length range. Jaw tips to abdomen tip; legs and antennae excluded.
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ROUND 2
Black Garden Ant (worker) vs Common Fruit Fly (adult)
Common Fruit Fly · reference · 2.5 mm Black Garden Ant · true length · 3 mm 1.2× longer than the common fruit fly
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 3
Heath Bumblebee (adult) vs Luna Moth (adult · open wings)
Luna Moth · reference · 9 cm Heath Bumblebee · true length · 1.4 cm 6.4× shorter than the luna moth
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
Small Blue Butterfly (adult) vs Common Eastern Firefly (adult)
Common Eastern Firefly · reference · 1.07 cm Small Blue Butterfly · true wingspan · 2.25 cm 2.1× wider than the common eastern firefly
Small Blue Butterfly: 22.5 mm wingspan for the selected adult. Selected 22.5 mm from the published 18–27 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
Bullet Ant (adult worker) vs Great Diving Beetle (adult)
Great Diving Beetle · reference · 4.4 cm Bullet Ant · true length · 2.8 cm 1.6× shorter than the great diving beetle
Bullet Ant: 28 mm body length for the selected adult worker. Selected 28 mm within the published worker range 18-30 mm. Head to gaster tip; mandibles, 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.