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 do 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 (eggsac). 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 eggsac 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 gotta be pretty smart to figure out exactly what level Ripley got off on (this one still kinda 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 atmorphereless 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 facehugger 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 -- 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.
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