In my head it was clear, but it seems it wasn’t in the prose 😅 The Woodguard know about it and are seeking for adventurers to help them, but they will try to keep the public from knowing. They should let the PCs through if they talked about the mission with Helcia.
You’re totally right about the lack of info about why the Widow is here, this will be in the expanded edition! As for the name, as ASpinosaurusNamedSimone suggested above, praying mantises females devour the males after procreation.
Thanks again for taking time in writing a detailed comment, much appreciated!