Lylek

"They're lyleks—armored insects, with stabbing limbs and poisoned tentacles. They hunt in packs, and they'll travel for days to get fresh food. We might kill the first wave, but we couldn't keep them back for long."

―Goll^[2]

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.^[1]

By 228 BBY,^[3] the Evereni Marchion Ro had fought against lyleks with his bare hands.^[4]

A swarm of lyleks attacked Emperor Sheev Palpatine and Darth Vader during their 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.^[1]

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Behind the scenes[]

The lyleks of Ryloth were first mentioned in the 1998 reference book The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons, written by Daniel Wallace. The creature was named after Wallace's wife, Kelly.^[5]