Geonosian

The Geonosians were an insectoid race native to the planet Geonosis. Having evolved in the harsh environment of the planet, the Geonosians' hive-based society grew into a rigid caste system that defined a specific hierarchy that could not be broken: the queen and the aristocrats, the warriors, and the drones. The average Geonosian was an avian humanoid with leathery skin and insectoid features. The queen and the aristocrats had two thin wings that sprouted from each shoulder, and provided the primary means of locomotion for the Geonosian. Their hands and feet ended in three digits, and their legs had two joints each. Their triangular heads were dominated by a group of thick tendrils that hung from their chins.

The warrior caste was divided into two distinct groups, the soldiers and the pilots. Despite the presence of the warrior caste, the Geonosians maintained no standing armies, and simply fought to defend their hives as necessary.

Those Geonosians that could fly considered themselves to be superior to their earthbound brethren, the wingless drones. The largest portion of the Geonosian population was made up of these simple drones, who were capable of doing excessive amounts of work with little or no supervision. The drones filled three separate subclasses within their hives: servants, farmers, and laborers.

As a people, Geonosians were efficient workers, combining their own ingenuity with vast amounts of automation to quickly produce moderate technology. For many centuries before the Battle of Geonosis, Geonosians found a wealth of buyers for their products, especially droids, but as the Old Republic crumbled, many of their former customers opted to buy from more local or cosmopolitan worlds. All but a few of the Geonosian factories were abandoned, until Darth Sidious financed Poggle the Lesser's rise to power. Then, Count Dooku and the Separatists made a deal with the Geonosians to produce millions of battle droids, precipitating the onset of the Clone Wars.

In the wake of the Clone Wars, Geonosian factories were forced to shut down large portions of their operations, as battle droids were no longer needed or allowed. The population languished for many years, until much of the population was absorbed in the Colony.