Titled "Podling Breeding"
From the artist:

Commissioned by OfficeChair776

The podling reproductive cycle is a fascinating subject. While podlings typically serve their host tree which acts as a sort of queen, accepting nutrients from the podlings and budding new workers, a peculiar thing happens when the podlings lack a host tree. They maintain their pack behavior, finding suitable hosts and providing for them in exchange for nutrients, but without a tree to deposit their excess nutrients, the podlings actually begin to develop seeds within their central stem. These large, fleshy seeds are capable of continuing to absorb nutrients and when they've matured as much as they can within the podlings, they deposit the seeds within a host female to continue growing and maturing until they finally germinate, at which time they are ready to be planted. These seeds, when properly planted and cared for, I hypothesize, will grow into a fully mature host tree. Unfortunately, the soil outside of the wriggling jungle seems unable to sustain these trees for long and the seeds are only able to grow into small saplings before they wither and die. This is still enough time for the saplings to produce 4-8 new podlings, thus continuing the cycle and hopefully, perpetuating them long enough until they can find suitable soil to plant a new tree or find an existing host tree. I'll continue my experiments with the podlings, happy to know that while I'll never be able to fully recreate their lifecycle outside of the wriggling jungle, I will always have access to new podlings to continue my observations. Still, some of my colleagues have begun to ask questions about my seemingly rapid onset of pregnancy and then, some weeks later, apparent termination every six months. I'll need to come up with a more suitable cover story than declaring I have a robust sex life. I wouldn't want my colleagues finding out about the podlings and then pushing further into finding their origin.

-Linda Wright