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The original was posted on /r/biology by /u/FauxExplains on 2025-06-06 04:17:55+00:00.

Sometimes I look at a wasp or a praying mantis and just think, “How is this thing real?” Like—exoskeletons, compound eyes, they breathe through holes in their sides, their “blood” doesn’t even carry oxygen the same way ours does, and their brain is basically a bunch of ganglia strung together.

It’s wild that we both evolved here. They feel like a totally different style of life. I get the evolutionary lineage and all that, but still—there’s something about insects that feels completely alien.

For me, ants especially blow my mind. Underground cities, farming, division of labor, chemical trails, war… six-legged little specialists running their own empires. What’s the insect (or group) that makes you stop and go, “No way, this came from the same planet as me”?