In Alien, we get the message...

In Aliens, it's WAR!

In Alien3, the bitch is back...

Lifecycle

The lifecycle of the alien is as follows:

Egg

The egg is made from organic material, usual a host which has been impregnated, and died because of the hatching of a chestburster. Eggs are about 50 inches high (about 1 meter) and react to their environment. They search a host big enough by unknown senses. It can detect movement, touch, and presumably also the height of a possible host.
Though hosts can be used for eggs, they can also be used as material for the nest of the aliens. Hosts are usually cocooned when impregnated, and this 'cocoon' can turn into an egg, or nest material.
The egg contains a...

Facehugger

A facehugger comes from an egg. There is one facehugger per egg. The facehugger is a creature which looks a bit like a spider. It has eight digits, which are quite finger-like. They even have nails. Apart from the digits, the facehugger also has two lobeshanging from the right- and leftback of it's body, a tail of about 70 cm, and a tube on it's "belly" which can be extended into the host's "mouth".
With the fingers it grabs on to the head of the host, and it protrudes the tube into the host's mouth, assuming it has one. Then it transports a spore into the host, and locks it in it's place. After a few hours -the implantation is done within a day- the facehugger let's go of the host.
The facehugger is capable of examining the host's need for oxygen. It controls the amount of oxygen the host needs. It has been speculated that facehuggers can supply any form of gas the host needs, assuming it is available, in such a way that the host stays in a coma, making the implantation easy for the facehugger.
The facehugger is also capable of 'seeing' hosts, and determining where the host's "face" is, and how to grab it. It can move very fast and uses it's tail for gripping on to objects. During implantation, the tail is used to lock the facehugger into position on the host's head. It can not be removed.
The facehugger has concentrated acid for blood, probably as a defense mechanism.

Spore

This stage is very poorly documented. This is the stage where the spore which is laid by the facehugger grows into the next stage: the chestburster.
The spore finds out how the host moves about, and finds out what the environment of the host is like. It probably does this by growing "feelers" (small nerves-like tentacles) which grow into the body of the host, finding out how the host is build up. Thus the spore can adapt to the environment of the host, making surviving easier for the adult creature.

Chestburster

The chestburster is the full-grown spore/embryo. It is the "baby"-alien. It rips itself from the place where the facehugger put it, and eats it's way out of the host. It has huge fangs for such a small creature, and it uses these to break free. It also uses brute force to break loose, and open the chest of the host. The chestburster has at least one molt, and then grows into the...

Adult alien

This is the creature we all fear. It is about 2.1 meters high, has a very long head, four tubes on the back, and two sets of teeth: one set in the head of the creature (like ours) and one which can shoot out and bash attackers.
The adult alien has a chitin like skin, no visible eyes, and a lot of outside veins. Once one of these veins is opened, an acidic fluid pours out, which can destroy almost anything. This has been called molecular acid by many, though this name is probably incorrect, for no true researchers has seen or examined this fluid and given their deductions. There are no evidences what so ever to sustain this theory, except Dallas' exclamation.
The alien is can capture hosts and transform them into eggs. These hosts do not need to be dead, in fact it is presumed that this transformation can only be done with living hosts. These eggs could contain facehuggers.
The alien is capable of communicating on a high level to others, probably by using pheromones. They create a hive which is run by a alien queen.

Queen Alien

The queen is a specialized adult, capable of creating eggs at a high rate. It has an abdomen at the end of her body, which can produce eggs. These eggs are created within this abdomen, and can be put on specific places by the end of the abdomen. It is lubricated by a slimy material, and is translucent. It contains a large amount of fluids, which are not acidic by nature.
The queen also has a large cranium, which is assumed to be used for communication to the nest's inhabitants. This cranium probably has pheromone producing organs, which can be spurted out to alarm the nest and give commands to the 'worker'-aliens.

Egg

Second stage in the Alien life cycle

This is the first mobile stage of the life cycle of an alien: the FACEHUGGER.

Chestburster

This chestburster is in fact one that is stuck on a special T-shirt. It is not used in the movies.

And now for the ALIENS

From Aliens we have:

The Alien Queen

The Ultimate Fight

The Derelict Space Craft

The space jockey...

Some high-tech structures and vehicles

The PowerLoader in action

Using a flamethrower _can_ be effective

VASQUEZ!!! LET'S ROCK!

The surface of LV-426

Collected and maintained by Eelko de Vos .

Pictures are taken from several internet sites.