The Ruurian life cycle consisted of three biological stages. They started life as larva-like creatures with sixteen limbs, large multifaceted eyes, feathered antennae, and stunted wings. At a certain advanced age, they entered the pupa stage, spinning a cocoon around themselves and undergoing internal changes by which larval structures were replaced by those typical of their latest form. At the end of the pupal stage, the Ruurian would emerge as a beautiful chroma-wing. During that final phase, the sole desires of a Ruurian were eating, mating, and fluttering along the riverbanks of their homeworld.
For most Ruurians, their final chroma-wing incarnation was an enviable fate. Some of them, however, were terrified by the prospect of changing forever, regarding their metamorphosis as a fate worse than death. Those frightened larvae could get special treatments allowing them not to enter the final stage of their biology. An entry on Ruurians was included in "Species From A to Z," a survival compendium sent out by Carson Teva during the New Republic Era.
Skynx was a Ruurian who lived prior to Kho Phon Farrus's enrollment at the University of Bar'leth, years before 3 ABY. A statue of Skynx was present at the University. Another Ruurian was the pick-pocket Slyyth, who lived on Lothal during the reign of the Galactic Empire and worked with Ezra Bridger on multiple occasions.
- Rebel Journal by Ezra Bridger
- Ultimate Star Wars
- Star Wars: Alien Archive
- "Species From A to Z" — Star Wars - The Official Magazine 114