Life in proportion

Earthworm vs Honeybee

What are they, and what does the difference actually look like?

Two things. One honest scale.

Meet the pair

What these two things are

Earthworm

An earthworm is a segmented invertebrate that lives in soil and aids in decomposing organic material.

12 cmBody length

Honeybee

A honeybee is a social insect that lives in a colony and gathers nectar and pollen from flowers.

1.5 cmBody length

Earthworm has about 8 times the body length of Honeybee.

True scale
01
Earthworm12 cmBody length
02
Honeybee1.5 cmBody length
Both marked spans share one linear scale. Artwork keeps its proportions; poses and surface detail are illustrative.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +

Earthworm

A chosen 12 cm earthworm; length changes as the animal moves.

Defined examples — our methodology

The marked body length is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.

Honeybee

A 15 mm worker honeybee (Apis mellifera), at the upper end of the cited 10–15 mm worker range. Body length excludes antennae, legs and wings. The 100 mg mass is a separate illustrative assumption.

University of Michigan — Apis mellifera

The marked body length is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.

Change the comparison

Put something else beside it.

Measurement details

Why these numbers?

The visual compares body length with body length. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.

Earthworm

12 cm

Body length · representative

A chosen 12 cm earthworm; length changes as the animal moves.

Honeybee

1.5 cm

Body length · representative · range 1 cm–1.5 cm

A 15 mm worker honeybee (Apis mellifera), at the upper end of the cited 10–15 mm worker range. Body length excludes antennae, legs and wings. The 100 mg mass is a separate illustrative assumption.

Comparing
Body length ↔ Body length
Relative size
Earthworm is larger on this measurement by a factor of about 8. Earthworm's selected measurement is approximately 700% greater than Honeybee's.

How to read the visual

The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.

  • Earthworm is labelled representative; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
  • Honeybee uses a 1.5 cm central value within a recorded range of 1 cm–1.5 cm.
  • Honeybee is labelled representative; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.

There’s always another scale

Follow your curiosity.

Explore things ↗

Side by side

Another point of view.

All comparisons ↗

Share a little perspective.