Very good post. Afaik there is no mention in the lore of female (male/female may be interchangable as some species can and regulalry do swap gender as and when needed) Eliksni so little can be gleaned about reproductive capacities however we can deduce that only those of sufficent rank would be allowed to mate and produce offspring. If the insect analogy is followed then a "Queen" is a possibility (think Aliens Queen and then worry) as an egg laying machine would quickly replace the high casualty numbers inflicted. Another possibility would be cloning.