Stone mite

For other uses, see Stone and Mite.

"These stone-munchers are an archaeologist's worst nightmare."

―Chelli Aphra comments on stone mites in the Smuggler's Guide^[4]

Stone mites were a stone-and-metal-eating species of non-sentient insect that originated on the planet Coruscant before spreading to various locations across the galaxy. The mites lived in trios that shared a single central shell, with each mite's head emerging from a different corner and a feeler-tail capable of delivering an electric shock located between each pair of heads.

An undetected stone mite infestation during the Orleon Belt Grand Slalom Finals resulted in several racers and their vehicles being devoured while the event was being broadcast live across the galaxy. During the Galactic Civil War, stone mites also infested the Millennium Falcon, a YT-1300 light freighter piloted by Captain Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca, who were forced to remove the infestation and repair the damages it caused.

Biology and appearance

Stone mites were a species of non-sentient insect that fed on^[1] mostly metals^[5] and stone,^[4] but also silicates,^[3] using their acidic saliva^[1] and strong jaws^[6] before absorbing them into their systems.^[2] The species could fuse together^[6] and lived in clusters of three, with all three individual mites sharing a single triangular central shell.^[1] A separate mite's segmented neck and head emerged from each corner of the triangle, and a single feeler-tail capable of delivering an electric shock protruded from each side of the triangle.^[2]

The mite's head had a gripping mandible on each side and two smaller jaws at the front that emitted corrosive acid.^[2] The creatures could use their pincers to hold onto the hulls of starships, which their acidic saliva would then eat through.^[5] The mite's central shell was almost indestructible^[3] and had a hard, metallic exoskeleton and was black in color, as were the species' necks, heads, and feeler-tails.^[2]

Behavior

Stone mites were willing to feed on metal from any starship or building^[4] and were equally as destructive as conduit worms.^[6] They could use their feeler-tails like limbs in order to balance.^[4]

History

Republic Era

A Coruscant Security Force speeder hovers over a busy street in the dingy light of the Coruscant Underworld. — Stone mites infested the buildings of the Coruscant Underworld, posing a threat to their stability.

Stone mites were a genetically engineered lifeform^[6] that evolved to incorporate the artificial into their biology on the planet Coruscant in response to the thousands of years of urbanization that resulted in the world becoming an ecumenopolis. The mites fed on the buildings of the Coruscant Underworld, posing a threat to the area's structural stability.^[2] From there they spread to various locations throughout the galaxy,^[1] spreading terror^[3] and leading to many tales among wary freighter pilots and spacers of the danger mites posed to anything made of metal.^[1]

During the Clone Wars, the Republic clone trooper "Checkbox" wondered if a stone mite was causing scrapping sounds that he heard coming from within a magna lock sealed crate on board the Arquitens-class light cruiser, Stellar Rise. Placing his head against the box to listen more closely, the clone was then killed by the true source of the noise: the Separatist General Grievous, who was hidden inside.^[7] After the Path of the Open Hand members Tunenep and Jesha Cour left the planet Amaltanna following a battle of the Clone Wars there, they traveled to Coruscant and lived in a small, stone mite-infested room with six other refugees deep in the bowls of the ecumenopolis.^[8]

Imperial Era

"Chewie's been digging these stone mites out of every nook and cranny inside the Falcon. Spent hours patching up their bite tracks and now I've got duracrete grout all over my shirt."

―Han Solo leaves a note about stone mites in the Smuggler's Guide^[4]

During the early reign of the Galactic Empire, an undetected infestation of stone mites at the Orleon Belt Grand Slalom Finals resulted in the devouring of several racers and their vehicles, which was broadcast live across the galaxy. The event horrified those who viewed it and resulted in the end of the asteroid slalom sporting craze.^[9]

A stone mite straddles beams above an opening to the innards of the Millennium Falcon, light emitting from within the technology. — The *Millennium Falcon* once became infested with stone mites.

At some point between 0 ABY and 3 ABY,^[10] during the Galactic Civil War, the YT-1300 light freighter Millennium Falcon became infested with stone mites, forcing the ship's Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca, to dig them out of every corner. The vessel's captain, Han Solo, then spent hours patching up the bite tracks left by the mites, resulting in his shirt becoming covered in duracrete grout. Solo wrote about the incident in the logbook that became known as the Smuggler's Guide. When the archaeologist Chelli Aphra later obtained the book, she annotated the entry concerning stone mites to mention that they were a pest to archaeologists due to their habit of eating stone.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Development

"David liked the idea of a three-legged creature, and I had the idea that instead of one creature with three 'legs', we should do one that was actually three individual creatures fused together, so that each creature's head becomes what looks like a claw."

―Robert E. Barnes^[11]

A comic book illustration of an orange creature with four limbs, a ribbed back and tail, and a head with two eyes and two large pincers. — The stone mites that appeared in *Star Wars 28* were visually very different to those created for *Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary*.

In the current Star Wars canon, stone mites were first mentioned in "Coruscant Underworld," an article in the "Guide to the Galaxy" department of the twenty-sixth issue of De Agostini's Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon magazine^[6] which was published around July 1, 2015^[12] and written by Mark Newbold.^[13] The species originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where they first appeared in^[14] the 1979^[15] comic book Star Wars (1977) 28, which was written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Carmine Infantino.^[14]

Concept sculptor Robert E. Barnes then borrowed the name "stone mite" from the comic when designing a sculpture with author David West Reynolds for use in the 2002 Legends reference book Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary. Instead of taking design cues from the comic, Barnes was inspired by the holochess creatures seen in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.^[11]

Reynolds initially liked the idea of a three-legged creature, but Barnes suggested that they make three creatures fused together, with each creature's head looking like a claw. Barnes had fun making the stone mite and put in extra work to make the model articulate, allowing it to be posed in "walking mode" with its heads extended or in "barnacle mode" with the three heads retracted into the central shell.^[11]

LEGO

In the 2021 non-canon reference book LEGO Star Wars Yoda's Galaxy Atlas, which was written by Simon Hugo, a poster with an image of a stone mite is shown on Coruscant reading "Save Coruscant's Historic Buildings. Don't let the stone mite bite!".^[16] The 2022 non-canon reference book LEGO Star Wars Awesome Vehicles, which was also written by Hugo, includes a picture a badge showing Resistance mechanic Rose Tico with the advice "spray your ski-speeder for stone mites!"^[17]