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The egg can survive for an undetermined length of time in various environments. (I.e. the original derelict spacecraft for who know how long, the hive in Acheron, inside of the Sulaco.) The egg appears translucent (especially when viewed while Kane shines his light on it), is flammable, and unarmored. The egg detects when a host is proximal by sound and/or movement. As this happens, some sort of liquid seems to drip upward, and small bumps appear as the egg comes to live, awakened by the chance to continue its lifecycle. The petals at the top of the egg open, preparing for the next stage as the face hugger. We first encounter these eggs in 'Alien' when Kane is lowered into the depths of an unknown spacecraft that has been sitting on the surface on planet LV-426. This bio-organic ship appears to have crashed onto the planet and begun to send what was first thought of as a distress signal, but later determined by Ripley as a warning signal. Kane enters what could be called a huge storage room (big enough for a couple football stadiums) that has many large beds covered by a list blue mist/light. Underneath the mist, many eggs can be seen.
We can see near the end of 'Aliens' that eggs are very flammable, and torch right up when Ripley flames them. In this same scene we see that the egg sac creating the eggs is full of a lot of liquid, which also catches on fire. This flammability could be due to the acid for blood that all stages of the xenomorph posses.
Although with the information we now know (that the eggs were presumably laid by a queen alien), originally eggs were constructed by different means. According to a scene that was cut from 'Alien' these eggs could also be "constructed" by a regular alien "infecting" an organism (which would undergo some sort of metamorphosis) however, this concept was not supported (nor denied) in 'Aliens' and 'Alien3'. This was the concept originally used with Brett and Dallas in 'Alien'. It is important to note that this method was the originally intended method of the designer of the Alien, H.R. Giger.
One more thing to notice is that the egg seen in Alien3 was different looking. It was smaller and more bulbous, unlike than the ones seen in 'Alien' and 'Aliens'. We already know the alien in 'Alien3' was different.
This difference might have been due to the egg itself, the host (a dog, but was originally intended as an ox or cow according to the script and novel), or even the environment.
The next stage, hibernating inside one of these eggs, is a parasite commonly refereed to as a face hugger. Concealed by the egg for protection, the face hugger waits until the egg senses it is time to continue the life cycle. When a viable host is brought near a closed egg (either by curiosity, or being cocooned and held in place) it triggers the "contents" of the egg to come to life. The egg opens from the top to reveal the creature within it. At this point the cycle transfers from the egg to the next phase as the face hugger awakens.
After sensing the nearby host, the face hugger launches out at the organism and attaches itself by wrapping a long "tail" around its victim's neck and using long spider-like legs (like a spider, the face hugger has 8 legs) to firmly grip the organism's head. The legs become almost fused with the head of the soon-to-be host, making it extremely difficult to remove.
The face hugger also controls the amount of oxygen its host receives and puts the victim in a comatose state while it reaches down the host's throat and lays an egg. The wind 'bags' on the side of the face hugger pump the oxygen into the host, to keep the host alive. During this process the host is virtually helpless and dependent upon the face hugger.
The face hugger can use various organisms as host, i.e. the 'Space Jockey', humans, and in Alien3, a dog. Being extremely versatile, the face hugger can adapt to various environmental conditions.
In order to ensure that the job can be completed with little outside interference, the face hugger has concentrated acid for "blood" (a possible self defense mechanism) and can strangle its host with its tail. This gives the face hugger a great advantage in which it can't be destroyed without destroying the host at the same time.
After the egg is planted in the victim's body, the face hugger leaves the host (who will soon regain consciousness and have no recollection of the implantation) and dies.
The colony on LV-426 managed to collect an amount of face huggers and sustain them in clear tubes filled with fluid. They didn't realize how dangerous a creature they we're dealing with. The first victim was Russ Jorden (Newt's Dad) when his family went to investigate the derelict space craft (on orders from Burke). The colonists tried to study them as you might with a 'normal' organism, but their fate was to be doomed.
It was due to one of these creatures, that Alien3 began. Shown at the start of the movie was a face hugger jumping on a cryotube, cracking the glass and dripping some acid on the floor. The acid manages to eat its way into the electrical system and cause a fire. The Sulaco then ejected the hyper sleep capsules inside an EEV (Emergency Escape Vehicle) probably because it couldn't put out the fire.
When the embryo has completed its period of development inside of the host, it emerges into the next stage in its life. The burster has built up enough strength into order to tear out of the body cavity inside of the host. The host experiences a great deal of pain during this procedure, resulting in convulsions and loss of all rational thought. This process usually results in the death of the host, which in all practical means isn't all the greatest of way to ensure the reproduction of the species. It would be more efficient if the host was reusable for many aliens, but due to the aliens' violent nature, it is only fitting for it to cause death upon birth.
Once free of the host, the chestburster is independent to live on it's own. About two feet long from head to tail, it emerges can emerge at different stages of development depending on host conditions, environment, and strength. Unlike the burster seen in 'Alien', the one in 'Aliens' had arms, while the latter was merely a head and tail. Once again the chestburster seen in 'Alien3' was also different; it was more "mature looking" immediately after its birth. Specifically, unlike the chestbursters of the previous movies, this one had legs, and a noticeable already developed inner jaw or tongue. The burster is very unprotected and vulnerable at this point. From the experience of the colonial marines in 'Aliens', a chestburster can easily be toasted by fire from their flame-throwers.
One thing to note is that fact that Ripley is still alive (for at least a while) after the queen chestburster has emerged from her. She manages to put her hands (which have gloves on) around the burster, holding tight into herself. She did this to ensure the burster would die in the furnace with her, therefore destroying the last of the aliens (at that point).
This is the final stage in the development of the standard xenomorph although there is great speculation of further development. In the previous stage, the creature was roughly one to two feet tall. In an extensive growth increase, it manages to become approximately 7 to 8 feet tall in a matter of hours. During this growth stage it is sometimes referred to as a 'calf', and sheds at least one layer of skin similar to a snake (in Alien, Brett finds a small piece of skin-like material about the size of the original burster on the ground.) In the usual case this increase in mass would take much longer. In Alien, it would've needed to feast on all the crew and metabolize their body mass before it even grew to be half the size of a man. We can also assume that is sheds skin multiple times in its rapid growth. In Alien3, while cleaning out a vent shaft, one of the prisoners discovers something similar to Brett's finding shortly before getting his skull punctured. One noticeable difference in this instance in the fact that there were burn marks on some of the structure, Clemens takes a closer examination of this. The shedding of skin while increasing body mass might also result in secretion or loss of blood (acid). In this same scene, the alien doesn't appear to be fully mature, but definitely larger then the original burster proving that it doesn't instantaneously grow to full size. Whether the alien needs any food at all for growth is has not been fully determined. In Alien it obviously has no food source between birth out of Kane, and the death of Brett, where it has grown to full size.
The xenomorph's skin appears a chitin like shell similar to bugs. It is hard, dark (black/green), and acts as an outer shell (exo-skeleton). It is by no means impervious (easily shattered by bullets), but has a higher tolerance to fire. As indicated in Aliens the alien creature does not "show up" on infrared scanners, which would indicate that it does not emit heat. It contains acid for blood, which tends to spray when hit by bullets (as seen when blown up in aliens noticeably when Hicks gets splashed by one while waiting for the elevator to go).
During its growth its cranium becomes elongated, and at full development the xenomorph has a banana-shaped skull. In Alien3 this is no surprise because the burster is very similar to the final product, while in Alien and Aliens, it is less apparent the burster has a more snake-like body instead of a separate head. Another noticeable difference is that the aliens in Aliens had only 3 fingers as opposed to the 6 fingered creature in Alien This may be due to either the host, the egg/face hugger, who laid the egg, or the environment. It may also be due to the "type" of alien. (I.e.: a soldier instead of a worker) Although they have this large cranium, xenomorphs have rudimentary thinking skills. When Ripley is in the hive, several aliens filter in to attack her; Ripley threatens to flame the eggs and the queen waves them off. In Alien3 it acted to protect Ripley (since she was carrying the queen embryo) when the doctor was going to give her an injection and when Dillon grabbed her (near the end). The aliens in Aliens cut the power to the complex (unless this was just an "accident"). However they also managed to "throw" themselves at the sentry guns losing many of their kind in hope of obtaining a handful of hosts. The large skull may also serve the purpose of pressurization, hold some vital fluid, or to maintain balance.
There appears to be no eyes or other distinguishable optical sensors and may use sonar or something similar to bats to determine surroundings. In Aliens Newt mentions that they mostly come out at night, this would imply that sight is not their primary sense. In Alien3 we see the view of the xenomorph as it chases after the prisoners. This view may be some sort of eyesight, or what is rendered in its mind from ultrasound including quadraphonic hearing and hyper-accurate ranging capability and other sensors.
Another attribute seen in the adult is the long dark spines sticking out of the back. These could be functionally similar to the plates on the back of a Stegosaurus; they make it difficult to land a damaging blow on the alien from a sneak-attack from behind. The spines could also be some form of reservoir for acid (similar to the humps on a camel). Perhaps they could be heat sinks or some sort.
The adult alien possesses a "double jaw", or two mouths one inside of the other. Once again the only known burster possessing this is the one seen in Alien3 while the others contained only a single jaw (easily distinguished in Alien). The outer jaw is hinged primarily by tendon-like apertures and is supported similar to that of a snake. The second jaw (also referred to as the "tongue") can extend out to about a foot long reach. It has a very strong driving force (enough to easily puncture skulls), almost like a pneumatic power. (possible another use of the elongated cranium).
The xenomorph's tail has grown proportionally and is not only used for balance, but attack. It has a barbed "stinger" at the end of it, which in the novel for Aliens is what punctures Gorman, paralyzing him. We see the queen alien puncture Bishop (near the end of alien), and use its tail when fighting Ripley. In Alien3, when Ripley is trying to get the creature into the mold, it also uses its tail in attack. The tail itself has a long row of connected spines along the top of it (similar to what a dragon would have).
The adult is also extremely agile. In Aliens it can be seen leaping from wall to wall and crawling on the ceiling. During Alien3 the xenomorph is running all over the place sideways, upside down, hopping from ledges. The creature also has amazing mechanical-like strength. At the beginning of the first battle in Aliens an alien grips Dietrich from the shoulders and lifts her straight up. They manage to pound through metal doors and walls, becoming virtually unstoppable.
The speculation of further development lies upon alien interaction of a society. When there is no queen present (or eggs) many different things could happen. A present xenomorph could morph into a queen through a cocoon like transformation. Or, a standard alien could have the capability of laying one egg in order to produce a queen. Another way to produce the egg (according to Giger's original idea) would be by the xenomorph infecting a host see the EGG section of the lifecycle. With no other aliens present, the dog-burster and the one in Alien were not queens? This could be due to ensure there are no rival queens in the area. A xenomorph would develop, check the place out, and then communicate with the egg/face hugger to develop into queen producing stuff. This would also substantiate the reasoning for the prolonged embryo incubation inside of Ripley. The embryo being a queen would take longer to develop to ensure enough distance from the original hive.
The hive society itself is rather complex and consists of a variety of alien versions. The reasoning for the "ribbed" craniums in Aliens could be that they are warrior xenomorphs. These aliens would be in charge of protecting the colony and attacking intruders. In this "theoretical" society (similar to bees or ants as described by Hudson and Vasquez's conversation in Aliens) there would also be the drone aliens. Their duty would be to tend to the queen/eggs, construct the hive and cocoon possible hosts. With no signs of physical communication seen by the aliens, we can assume some type of telepathic connection between the creatures, with the queen running the whole show. Communication could also be the answer to the "ribbed" vs. "smooth" craniums. Lone adults have uniform smooth reflective heads, while adults functioning in a nest have distinct anterior and posterior head sections the posterior region being covered in a ribbed pattern with a pair of pits on either side of the head. This morphology in social organisms may be used in sonic and chemical communication. That this ribbed pattern is visible in the neck regions of the lone adult may indicate that the smooth reflective surface of the heads serves as a canopy covering more complex structures.
The Queen Alien: little is known about her. From Alien3 we know that a queen alien can be born in the same way as a regular alien -- see the Adult section for further theory on the development of the queen. Some things that we do know about the queen: she has a much larger cranium than the usual alien and is slightly taller (approx. 2-3 feet). The queen has the ability to create and lay eggs (through the use of the extended abdomen) and she has the ability to survive without the extended abdomen (for an unknown amount of time).
The queen is the prime focal point of the colony and the driving control force. All the aliens (worker and drone) strive to support her. We see in Aliens that she does tell other xenomorphs what to do, and has a larger amount of intelligence. She noticeably has more arms/legs that the usual aliens, 2 legs, 2 large arms, 2 smaller arms, and 2 very short arms sticking straight out of her chest for a total of 8. When we first see a queen in Aliens she is huge. Upon later observation, a large portion of the initial queen is basically her nest (designed to support her and her rather large abdomen (egg sac). She is still undoubtedly larger and it seems that even her outer jaw can retract further (you can notice this in the first up close shot of the queen).
As described before by Hudson and Vasquez's conversion earlier in the movie (only the directors cut), the queen does run the whole show, has greater intelligence and proves it. After Ripley has rescued Newt, she runs into the egg chamber with the queen on her way out. The queen is primarily dormant, and doesn't give Ripley much attention until one of her eggs is fried after it opens. The alerted queen is enraged (her primary goal is to see the reproduction of the species, causing her eggs to be her most prized possession). Warriors are quickly called in (whether aroused by the excitement, or by the queens chemical/telepathic call) and move in on Ripley. As Ripley (pretty ticked off herself) points the flame-thrower at another egg, the queen does realize what will happen if the warriors attack, and therefore calls them off (by hissing?). This sequence ends as Ripley leaves and the queen detaches herself from her egg sac in pursuit. She rips herself in a great effort to free herself of the sac, tearing skin, etc. and it doesn't seem to hinder her a bit.
As with all other xenomorphs, the queen is also seems to be harmed by fire. When the queen chases Ripley to the elevator, she is right up to the screen (tearing through the light metal should be no problem for a queen after seeing how the warrior aliens pounded through plate metal,) yet the very weak fire is thrown from what little is left of Ripley's flame thrower seems to be enough to stop her. The queen does seem to walk somewhat awkwardly compared to the average aliens (possible because she isn't used to walking and is designed to sit in her nest while everybody else takes care of her.
The queen's intelligence is once again shown when she notices the other elevator arrive at the sub-level. And she's also got to be pretty smart to figure out exactly what level Ripley got off on (this one still kind of bugs me). But she does catch up to Ripley and Newt once again, and manages to wedge herself into the landing gear of the dropship. The queen survives the atmosphere less void of space on the journey to the Sulaco (much similar to when the first alien in Alien is blow out of the Narcissus, yet is still able to crawl into the engine duct. Another instance to think about is the fact that the first face hugger manages to keep Kane alive in the void during the journey back to the Nostromo.)
Fighting tactics for the queen include use of her tail and plain brute strength. She manages to tear Bishop apart with no problem and proceeds to catch Newt and then attack Ripley. During the loader vs. alien battle, she makes use of her tail as a whip, trying to possibly sting or just plain damage Ripley. Her strength seems to be no match for the loader, yet she seems to move fairly quickly and manages to pull Ripley/loader into the air lock with her.
