The Killik were a nest-dwelling species of sentient insectoids. Keo Venzee and Feresk Tssat, who were pilots in the New Republic's Vanguard Squadron, spearheaded a mission around 4 ABY to retrieve an astromech droid from Laanen, which is an ice moon orbiting the gas giant Navlaas. As a consequence, the Imperial Logistics Division seized all Clouzon-36 supplies from the space stations comprising the Navlaas Triad; Ardo Barodai, the New Republic intelligence head, compared this action to the sound of a Killik nest buzzing. During the First Order-Resistance War, Poe Dameron and Finn came across a Killik alongside its nest inside a train car during a mission on Kamil. The purpose of the mission was to negotiate for livestock that the Resistance required.
The first Star Wars canon appearance of a Killik was in the 2016 comic book Han Solo 1. However, the species was initially identified in "The Light You Bring," a short story connected to the 2020 video game Star Wars: Squadrons. Mark Brooks, the illustrator for Han Solo 1, later verified that the character in the issue was indeed a Killik.
Killiks have a rich history within Star Wars Legends. They were initially mentioned in the 1995 book The Illustrated Star Wars Universe, which featured Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi depicting structures referred to as "Killik mounds." This artwork subsequently served as inspiration for the design of the Lurmen village in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Jedi Crash" and the landscape of Lothal as seen throughout Star Wars Rebels. The Killiks themselves made their first full appearance in The Joiner King, the initial book in the Star Wars: The Dark Nest Trilogy.