Yanme'e
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The Yanme'e share many similarities with Earthly beetles and colonial insects. They are bipedal arthropods with hard exoskeletons made from a glossy chitinous substance, as well as two pairs of veined wings. These adaptations are a response to the high gravity of the Yanme'e homeworld, Palamok; their shells allow them to withstand hard falls, and the thick atmosphere of Palamok allows the winged Yanme'e to achieve just enough lift to perform fluttering leaps or naturally short bursts of flight. In lower-gravity environments, Yanme'e are capable of using their wings for actual aerial maneuvering, but the weight of their exoskeletons prevent them from flying. When the Covenant discovered this natural ability, scientists extended their flight capabilities by fixing gravity-dampening modules to their bodies. The module adjustment gave the Yanme'e the ability to take flight freely, and the species proved to be impressive fliers—particularly on worlds that had less gravity than Palamok. Yanme'e are also impressively strong, despite their frail appearance. They can also be seen lifting their enemies off the ground to impressive heights.
The Yanme'e evolved from winged tree-dwelling arthropods on Palamok which had developed complex motor skills due to a flexible appendage made up of chitin that functioned as an opposable thumb. Eventually, the species developed higher levels of technology that ultimately led to the evolution of the Yanme'e species, due to societal coordination and cooperation. The Forerunners noted that the Yanme'e were one of the few sapient, arthropodal species in the Milky Way galaxy that were competent enough to attain tool-making and technological skills.