SJ Face, Face Huggers and Humans...

@ Manndroid... That "gender bend" you mention from JP was because they used amphibian DNA to fill in the gaps, and many species of amphibians have been known to change sex in a single sex environment. You also mentioned that the two reproduction ideas from Alien and Aliens (respectively) may have been adopted by the Xenomorph to ensure their survival when there is a lack of hosts. Neither of these two ideas actual cater for that, as both result in the production of an egg incubating a Facehugger, and Facehuggers require hosts.

@Snorkelbottom I understand the scientific rationale behind the 'gender bend' in Jurassic Park - it's explained in the film. I wasn't intending it as a 1:1 comparison, but a plot device to bridge the two ideas. As for the other parts of the theory - though both wouldn't be possible without hosts, there is still a clear parallel between the plot device in JP that I mentioned. Since we've been lead to believe that the Aliens were created, the ability to coccoon its prey may have been its intended form of reproduction - essentially, a precision warfare weapon - in the end, you'll end up with a small, controlled populace of the count of your enemy, +1. It's area denial, but it also ensures that - when used in small number - the resulting infestation is manageable. Now, introduce the 'ol "reach outpacing one's grasp" mechanic, and you could say that the Aliens evolved from their programmed intention - developing the ability to produce a queen, rapidly increasing its ability to subvert a population. You still have the problem of the host > egg ratio, granted, but it's a sign that the creatures are evolving in a way to try to break their intended boundaries. When their handlers return, they'll be dealing with a situation that could possibly turn around on them - they'll be looking for adults, and not hundreds, or thousands, of eggs, which have the potential of infesting [i]them.[/i] It's not the perfect method, yes, but it provides some room for the possibility of both cycles being valid. Especially if the creature were bioengineered, it'd only make sense that its own evolution would ricochet off in odd, possibly unsuccessful tangents until it finds a method that ensures its survival without the need for host organisms. Perhaps if the nest got large enough, it could use its own kind for hosts? Who knows.

Now that you clarified things I like what you propose... Original propagation = Small scale infestation - 1 alien from two victims (1 host and 1 egg). Alien develops the Queen, to produce the eggs instead... New propagation = doubled scale infestation - 1 alien from 1 victim (1 host)

Exactly. It's kind of like how, in the real world, we introduced a strain of asian Lady Bugs to control the pest population on our crops in North America. Now, [i]they're[/i] the pests, wreaking havoc on an ecological system unprepared for them. Except in this case, the Aliens are poised to wreak havoc on a galaxy unprepared for them.

Same thing here in the UK with squirrels.

Right. Squirrels are poised to wreak havoc on a galaxy unprepared for them.

Are they, oh shit, better barricade my house then. the ladybug thing = the squirrel thing = the killer bee thing.