For reference, I used a real photo of a praying mantis. In the spring and summer, we’ve had hundreds of them in our garden.
Oftentimes, the argument is made that aliens would look nothing like us, as they evolved under completely different circumstances than humans have on Earth. With that being said, it only makes sense for witnesses to use our earthly frame of reference to describe what they saw.
“It looked like a praying mantis” I think is taken too literally. That description is likely based on their large black eyes, tall slender frame, long multi-jointed limbs, and an unsettlingly graceful way of moving. Which brings me back to my initial thought – could an advanced alien species have an exoskeleton? We’ve seen many land and sea based creatures evolve functionally with this structure, but they are generally low intelligence, instinct driven creatures. Very much incomparable to the intelligence of octopods, whales, and crows.
What are your thoughts?
by IamYarrow
33 Comments
Where did you learn that mantis are one of the most commonly reported alien species out of curiosity?
I know of a specific encounter where someone was allowed to touch its face, specifically around the eyes and they described the texture as being exactly the texture and hardness of a brazil nut.
They have light bodies.
Could be anything. Read on convergent evolution, apparently there are optimal shapes for every ecosystem niche. That’s why dolphins look like fish despite evolving from land mammals
Above a certain size threshold, an exoskeleton body becomes a burden to carry around. A human sized insect would be crushed under it’s own weight. Assuming mantids evolved on a similar planet to our own…
The NHI hypothesis should begin with the premise that a superintelligence exists, capable of advanced technological feats, including the replication and engineering of lifeforms. These designed lifeforms, _designoids_, serve as the superintelligence’s workforce, each optimized for specific tasks.
For example, if a pilot is needed, the designoid might be engineered to withstand high G-forces. Similarly, if drones are required to operate in low-light conditions, they could be designed with enhanced night vision. Essentially, the superintelligence would create lifeforms tailored to perform specific functions.
In the case of observing and studying Earth without disrupting its ecosystems or alerting the dominant species, the superintelligence would likely deploy avatars—human-like entities nearly indistinguishable from humans. This would allow the intelligence to interact with the planet covertly.
The phenomenon of mantid sightings stands out, given the number of reports from independent, unconnected sources. This consistency lends credibility to their existence. While skeptics may attempt to explain these sightings through evolutionary biology or childhood memories or wild imagination, the frequency and specificity of the encounters adds a lot of credibility.
Unlike other cryptids or alien sightings, mantids are one of the most widely reported lifeforms, and their appearance doesn’t align with any particular science fiction narrative, making them a particularly intriguing case.
Insectoid designoids, such as mantids, would offer several advantages over human-like forms. They could be stronger, faster, more durable, and possess superior sensory capabilities. They likely do have an exoskeleton, whether it’s artificial or organic is the next interesting question.
Speculating about why a superintelligence might prefer insectoid designoids over hominid ones can open new avenues for understanding the true nature of these entities and their purpose in the broader context of the superintelligence’s goals.
Much like the cover art of “Communion” and how it creeps people out to their core, I’ve know more than a few grown men that have a seemingly irrational fear of praying mantis’s. All of these men are decent blue collar guys, a couple with dangerous jobs. None of them study UFOs.
Maybe aliens can decide and customize their external morphology and they just choose to look scary as hell? There’s no cute fuzzy alien, just amphibian lookin grey, insect lookin mantids, lizard looking reptilian..all creatures that make us go eughhh. And then there’s humanoid but nothing else mammalian in between. Really makes you wonder..are mammals considered to look weak and squishy in the galactic world
If they exist, I dont think they are insects. They just have a mantis like look.
For me the comparison to a mantis means one of the two main identifiable characteristics youd associate with mantids (or both).
The way the arms articulate and it possibly having more than 2 legs
Or the shape of the head
Woudnt say most common, ive only heard them since a few years greys are more classic and more reported imo
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Many poeple who took Ayahuasca (all unrelated) have had multiple statements where they said they encountered Mantis People during their journeys. Many of whom stated they were healed by them and did so in a metaphysical way.
As described in the classic dark ages demon grimoires prob, looks very very similar …
The issue I have with these is descriptions vary from fully insect to greys who happen to look a bit like Mantis.
I remember googling Mantis aliens a few months ago & it was surprisingly difficult to find anything
Like even basic sketches & art work of them
From the little I’ve heard they are not necessarily completely malevolent but they are not here to help either, what is everyone’s opinion?
I always assumed endoskeleton, it was simply that these “things” were similar in shape to that of a praying mantis, which is a pretty unique bodyplan.
no exo-skeleton, it’s far too cumbersome. they’re speed merchants when they really want to be (multiple legs). they have different ‘personalities’. standing upright they’re awesome and intelligent. In a horizontal posture they’re almost totally insectoid and callous (and with reason). they have a hierarchy where the ‘good’ ones try to appear caring while the others do the ‘dirty’ work and they don’t have anywhere near our range of emotions so, from one second to the next, they’re attitude can change and they go from being an angel to a demon in an instant. then the fear kicks in and… it’s over. 🤷
Maybe the Mantis people wanted to leave a little signature or easter egg in our reality. Since they or their group is more than likely responsible for seeding the earth why not leave a little bread crumb behind of their existence.
Low key hoping for this
I mean, just mantis shaped. Who knows what weird shapes of animals are from the planet they evolved on. Or maybe it is like our mantises and they just grew out of the shell part. 🤷♂️
They are massive , some almost 20’ . A lot hail from the Orion cluster and are negatively oriented , but a few positives exist , many at the 6th-7th dimensional level of consciousness … people down here will soon be in awe to grasp how expansive life is , as until we meet a 20’ mantis that can read our minds , and casually , we ain’t seen shit yet .
Fleshy. Not green. Humanoid. Extra-big dark eyes.
Do they eat people the way praying mantis eat everything? 😥
If they’re like an earth mantis their exoskeleton would have to be modified, and many other anatomical changes would be likely as well. Chitin is fairly heavy and an human sized bug would be massively weighed down by their exoskeleton and under-muscled. They also have a respiratory and circulatory system that theoretically shouldn’t function well at that scale (in earths environment). So if there are human sized mantis, spiders etc, they are likely evolved to a point we would no longer recognize them in relation to earth insects. Bigger/thicker limbs, smaller thorax, bigger head, different circulation, and respiration to exist on an earth like planet.
Unless of course they come from a planet/dimension with different gravity. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been curious that so many accounts report seeing the mantis beings in ships/space? Perhaps they cannot function in earth gravity/atmosphere very well or require some sort of specialized tech to depart their ships?
All that for who knows. Sure they could have an exoskeleton, but they probably wouldn’t be like our insects in many regards.
The idea is that giant bugs would be too heavy to move.
For instance, people have wondered why bumble bees can flying because at our level they shouldn’t be able to. However, at their level our atmosphere is like fluid, so bees are basically swimming and not flying like a bird.
So, the body of an insect that was seven feet tall wouldn’t have the support to move and would be too heavy.
However, the problem is that an alien insect like creature would not be an insect, it would just look like one. It would have to have a different physical composition than insects do. So, it’s muscles would have to be much stranger and its shell lighter as compared to the strength of its muscles.
Aliens SHOULD have developed under much different conditions than anything on Earth so they should look like creatures we are familiar with but if they do, they should not have a biology like something from Earth.
Is that a third eye in between the antennae?
Just one of many!! The one that kinda freaked me out was demon looking thing who was startled by a young man who got locked out of a party at a big house he went around to knock on a window and saw (and it immediately paralyzed him) what he described as a classic demon with horns and large vampire looking teeth – he told the young man he was looking for human female flesh! The thing vanished before his eyes and was then able to move
Transdimensional is the answer…we live in a 3D material world so that is how we conceptualise them. It is about consciousness not a physical form. We can’t conceptualize what a 5D or 12D being could be…like if we found out that 2D paintings were sentient and we wanted to interact, maybe we would paint ourselves in a 2D form to do so.
At least that is how I understand it from a lifetime of being visited by mantid entities
The universe is infinite my friend. If you can imagine it, it probably exists.
I don’t believe they are one of the most commonly reported alien species.
I’ve met a couple Mantidoids. They are an interesting mixture of flesh and Exo-skeletal biology. But they are surprisingly very friendly and patient. Especially pre-examination. The only thing I never cared for was their abrupt “Kick you to the curb” after they’re done with you…
Agreed. Not insectile, but long-limbed with eyes set far apart.