Lekgolo

The Lekgolo (Latin Ophis congregatio ) are a species of small colonial worm-like creatures that can join together to form purpose specific assemblages, such as Mgalekgolo.

Mgalekgolo are commonly referred to by Humans as Hunters. The cores of Scarabs (the Halo 3 model) are also made up of Lekgolo worms.

Every worm-like creature is an individual eel about 1.4 meters long, with its own central nervous system. It is speculated that the Lekgolo's nervous system can operate a small distance outside of its own body, explaining how the Mgalekgolo are a collective being.

These worms isolated Mendicant Bias from the rest of the Forerunner Dreadnought when it unsuccessfully attempted to escape from High Charity.

The only time that individual Lekgolo can be seen in the Halo games is in Halo 3. If you shoot at a dead hunter's body, small eel-like creatures will fly out of the corpse, but will disappear after a few seconds. See Mgalekgolo for more information on Lekgolo assemblages.

History
The Lekgolo evolved on their homeworld of Te and fed by burrowing through the ground of their planet. They came into contact with the Covenant when the alien collective landed in search of Forerunner artifacts.

They found only the remains of a space station which had once contained many artifacts, but was now bare due to the actions of the worms, which had broken down and eaten the devices. The Prophets viewed this as heresy, and declared war on the Lekgolo in what would later be called the Taming of the Hunters.

With the aid of an unnamed Arbiter, the Covenant were victorious and absorbed the defeated worms into their ranks. Groups of the aliens were given thick armor plates and Fuel Rod Cannons to help them serve the Covenant as Mgalekgolo. With the Covenant Civil War, the species was divided into those that supported the Covenant Loyalists and the Covenant Separatists.

The species' fate after the events of Halo 3 is unknown, although it is assumed that Te was not affected by the war.

Trivia

 * "Lekgolo" is Tswana for "one hundred", probably a reference to their hive-like physiology.
 * Lekgolo blood is a glowing orange, and supposedly smells like burnt plastic.
 * Ophis means snake. Congregatio means assembly, society, union. Translated it means "assembly of snakes", no doubt alluding to their physical structure.
 * Lekgolo stopped Mendicant Bias from taking off in the Forerunner Dreadnought by short circuiting the ship's systems.
 * In Halo 3, a Scarab is controlled by the Lekgolo as they appear around the reactor of the vehicle.
 * The Lekgolo are the most plentiful members of the Covenant, around the trillions in number.
 * When you shoot a Hunter in Halo 3, a Lekgolo worm will fly out of the main colony, wriggle, squirm, and then disappear, as if it is going underground. Although the vanishing lekgolo may simply be for technical reasons so they don't pile up in the room.
 * The species has been described as very technological. Before coming in contact with the Covenant, they were colonizing new worlds via self-made ships.
 * Halo 3: ODST will contain a new multiplayer map that has a hidden skull that looks like a Lekgolo worm.
 * One of the easiest ways to kill a Hunter is by throwing a spike grenade or plasma grenade at the Lekgolo at the back.