Skitter

The Skitters are an extraterrestrial species which invades Earth and nearly drive the Human race extinct in the TV series Falling Skies.

These are hexapod creatures with a reptilianoid-insectoid appearance. Their six legs are arranged in radial fashion but their upper body is quasi-humanoid, containing a pair of arms and a head, giving them a body plan somewhat similar to the Tholians from Star Trek. Each hands and feet have three digits.

Skitters are nocturnal and appear to be a very hostile species, as no clear reason has yet been given for their brutal assault on Earth. Their technology includes large robotic soldiers which, unlike the Skitters, are oddly bipedal. Furthermore, the way Skitters give verbal orders to the robots have led some to suggest that the robots are actually a species of their own, which have been enslaved; or simply work for; the Skitters.

Skitters appear to have an exoskeleton, though it isn't tough enough to protect them from simple firearms. They are also known to kidnap humans and infect them with a parasitic lifeform which allows the Skitters to control them and use them to communicate with humans.