Nature

How small is a fairyfly wasp?

An adult fairyfly wasp has a body length of about 140 µm.

What is measured: adult male body length

Fairyfly wasp (140 µm) drawn to scale beside a human egg cell (115 µm) and a grain of sand (500 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Human egg cell (115 µm), Fairyfly wasp (140 µm) and Grain of sand (500 µm).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 1.2× the width of a human egg cell
  • About 2× the width of a human hair
  • About 3 would fit across a grain of sand
  • About 7× the width of a cloud droplet
  • About 19× the width of a red blood cell

Learn

Facts about Fairyfly wasp

The male fairyfly wasp is among the smallest known adult insects and is wingless, unlike the female.

Source: Guinness World Records, Smallest Insect; University of Florida IFAS, Fairyflies

Nature

NameSizeCompared with Fairyfly wasp
Fairyfly wasp140 µmthis page
Common pill bug1.2 cm (0.47 in)86×
Gippsland giant earthworm2 cm (0.79 in)140×
Bargibant’s seahorse2.4 cm (0.94 in)170×
Blue dragon sea slug3 cm (1.18 in)210×
Garden snail3 cm (1.18 in)210×
Bee hummingbird5.5 cm (2.17 in)390×
Monarch butterfly9.5 cm (3.74 in)680×
Luna moth11.5 cm (4.53 in)820×
Venus flytrap15 cm (5.91 in)1,100×

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