Author's Note: The mantis pea pod aka the mantipod. Here is the original mantis
The ant raiding party set out before dawn and came upon the sleeping mantipod just before sunrise. Should they dare to steal the "peas" from such a fierce predator-yes, they had to consider the colonies' needs. They crawled into her abdomen and started to remove it's contents. Just as the first ant was pushing past her, the morning's first rays of light lit him like a spotlight. Quickly, they plundered every pea. Whether they were too small for the giant mantipod to grasp or she was still groggy, she did not strike. The perfect crime they thought but the last ant could have sworn he saw a knowing smile crack across her hideous face. The peas were put into the ant's pantry chamber to be eaten later but a strange thing happened-every ant that went to the pantry disappeared. The "peas" had morphed into small mantipods and the ants were the perfect size prey for these juveniles. Two weeks later, the colony was completely decimated and the now grown mantipods emerged and ventured out into the world.