The Mantis were a sentient insectoid race which lived on the Mantis planet. They closely resembled the Earth insect species of praying mantis and were considered to be savagely ruthless.
Background[]
Mantis walked upright on four hind legs, while using two forelegs as arms. They had mandibles, compound eyes, antennae, and large, folded green wings.
Mantis were advanced technologically and had their own long distance transporter. They maintained a large Mantis zoo replete with exhibits, which were filled by large animals like the gigantic Nogik spider as well as sentient species such as Dobrovians. Tools included a powered staff that shot bursts of electrical energy.
History[]
In the 2260s, Mantis began kidnapping Angoman gorillas for their zoo, and inadvertently captured a landing party from the USS Enterprise. Although Mantis stunned their human captives, they neglected to check for hidden weapons. That evening, the Starfleet officers broke out of their exhibit and escaped through the transporter with one of the missing gorillas. (TOS comic: "Beware the Beast")