Lylek

Lyleks were a species of large insectoid predators native to the equatorial forest of the planet Ryloth. With their spiked pincers and powerful mandibles with a pair of tentacles near them, the lyleks were the only Rylothian lifeform more dangerous than the predatory gutkurrs. Their ridged, spiked carapaces could deflect blaster bolts. Although the lyleks lived in hordes, the bigger individuals often dismembered the smaller members of their kind. These hordes were led by a lylek queen, and their elaborate underground nests could cover up to 15 square kilometers. They communicated by hissing, clicking, and chittering. Their carapaces were tough enough to repel even heavy blaster fire, though a precisely aimed shot to the head could put one down.

By 228 BBY, the Evereni Marchion Ro had fought against lyleks with his bare hands.

In 134 BBY, a group of poachers and mercenaries led by the off-worlder Orisent released two lyleks into the hunting arena of the Crowning Convocation on the planet Siline as part of a conspiracy to upend the tradition and to illegally harvest organs of the immensely valuable ericadi. Their plans were thwarted by Jedi Padawans Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar, who attempted to protect their fellow Convocation great hunt participants from the unexpected danger posed by the lyleks. When the mercenaries directly attacked the Jedi, along with Silinese contender Sitia Arthyst and her human friend Lionine Graf, the loose lyleks attacked the assembled crowd. The resulting fight and the eventual response of the Silenese authorities resulted in the death of both lyleks.

A swarm of lyleks attacked Emperor Sheev Palpatine and Darth Vader during their 14 BBY mission to Ryloth after their Star Destroyer the Perilous was shot down by members of the Free Ryloth Movement. The two Sith Lords fought a running battle against hundreds of the insects before they were incidentally herded into the swarm's central hive. There, they proceeded to kill the gigantic lylek queen and slaughtered the hundreds of remaining drones.

Text and facts from the “Lylek” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.