Mantid

The Mantid are an insectoid race of intelligent humanoids in World of Warcraft. Their domain is Qi'touan, an empire that spans most of western Pandaria. They are ruled by an empress.

Culture
Each hundred years, the Mantid young hatch in massive swarms and fly east, devouring all in their path. Those that survive the confrontation with the defenders of the Serpent's Spine return to the empire and become its fully fledged citizens, no longer driven by their primal hunger and a need to destroy.

The empire is ruled by a long lived empress, selected by the Klaxxi council. She either succeeds the previous one peacefully (if she dies of old age) or takes the throne in a violent duel (if the old empress falls to corruption).

The Klaxxi council oversees the Mantid swarming cycles, preserving the empire's traditions.

The Mantid revere the Old God Y'shaarj, considering it to be their patron deity.

They get most of their nourishment from the massive Kypari trees that dot the landscape. The Kypari produce the lifegiving amber which the Mantid use in all aspects of their daily life, from food to building and weaponry.

Inspiration
Being an empire with a warrior culture, set on a continent that was inspired by eastern cultures, it can be presumed that the Mantid empire was inspired by ancient Japan.

In the AU
With the swarming cycle seeming less plausible in a human setting, the hundred-year cycles were instead replaced by coming-of-age battles against the wall, occurring on a much more regular basis: the Warpath.

It is also assumed that the empress is not the sole woman in the empire.