history of drones

The Yanme'e are human sized, insectoid creatures that are covered in natural chitinous body armor, which affords them limited protection against modern weaponry. Yanme'e typically mount small antigravity devices on their exoskeleton to assist in flight. It seems, like the other Covenant species, that Yanme'e share a ranking system from the colored plates of their exoskeletons. They do not interact with other species except to trade and serve in a military capacity and their exact position in the Covenant Hierarchy is relatively unknown, although it is reasonable to believe that they are higher in rank than Unggoy and Kig-yar, but lower in rank than Sangheili and Jiralhanae. They are usually used as mechanical crews on ships when Huragok are not available, though they aren't as effective as the Engineers. In jealousy, they have even killed an Engineer named Lighter Than Some aboard the Covenant vessel Rapid Conversion when the Huragok was assigned all the drones' tasks. After the Great Schism began, almost all of the Yanme'e took the side of the Covenant Loyalists.

The Yanme'e are a eusocial species, meaning their society usually consists of a single reproductive queen, reproductive males and non-reproductive female workers and/or soldiers. Because of this, they can be extremely dogmatic and hive minded; something that may have made for an easy conversion into the Covenant hierarchy. They were one of the newest races to join the Covenant. They are respected by the other Covenant for their natural intelligence, obedience, and technological skill. Their skills with technology have brought them into an often violent rivalry with the Huragok, as seen in Halo: Contact Harvest. While they have been in the Covenant for hundreds of years, for unknown reasons, they have not been seen in any major Covenant campaigns until the Battle of Earth, possibly because they did not have a combat role until that time, or simply because no human had managed to record their presence in earlier battles. The Yanme'e fought for the Covenant Loyalists during the Covenant Civil War.

The Yanme'e joined the Covenant in the year 1112. Much like the Unggoy and the Mgalekgolo, they are a conquered race that was forced into service by the Covenant. Despite this, unlike those other races, they remained with the Covenant Loyalists during the Great Schism. They strictly follow the Covenant religion and obey any command without question, yet do not partake in social norms due to communication difficulties with other species. They view the Prophets as "Queens", a remnant of their former hive lifestyle. The Queens of the Drones have been described as "enormous" and had to be supported by multiple wingless Drone males. The Drones' language is a cacophony of high-pitched clicking or whining from the rubbing of their waxy, leaf like wings. They are also known to communicate with loud shrieks and screeches. Some ideas are conveyed through the use of pheromones.