Xenomorph Hives Explained / Could they be Alive?

[@jorchs83]

The eggs have tentacle-like growth coming out of them. This is seen in a photo in the book GEIGER'S ALIEN. Stepping on one might alert the facehugger inside. It might explain why mature ones attack from above, so they themselves don't set the eggs/facehuggers off.

[@jdulast]

But there are xenos that have walked around the eggs and they also pick then up. Not certain but I bet humans have walked around the eggs before. I think they can detect life but sensing there scent or thermal regulation.

[@maxrander0101]

@@jdulast if we look at the eggs and hive being alive and connected via the tentacle-like growths then we can assume the hive can tell the aliens from non-aliens thus meaning they could be disturbed by aliens without setting off the facehiggers

[@yaronimus1]

it's also clear from watching the movie, that the alien genom is characterised by a really fast metabolism. you can see them salivating a lot, consuming a lot, and so they would definetly need a high percentage of nutrients and water.

[@RedJax69]

So would the hive be more like a tree just growing, or more as a smart home where the drones could communicate (hive mind) and live in a symbiotic relationship or as a thinking living being (to some or full degree)? I love this idea. Hive as a Lovecraftian dorm/dimension the xenos live in/grow. Builders and the Building itself. Interesting.

[@radrno7]

Definitely like a fungus or a tree. Hives are nothing but this substance produced by the xenomorphs, much like ants and spiders, to serve as a safespot for them, as it’s probably a dark and cold environment. The xenomorphs themselves are the hivemind controlled by the Queen.

[@lgchamp1999]

I honestly feel like the Xenomorphs are more like wasps than ants in terms of hierarchy.

[@lostcolonyforge5792]

I was thinking of coral

[@chucktaylor4958]

If the hive was constructed from fungal mycelium, it could live and grow.

[@jacobgillispie1175]

I had this theory when the trailers for covenant came out: Egg morphing is actually a fungi that decomposes host and the egg is like a mushroom (using the mushroom from covenant and black goo as source for my theory)

[@biojunkyard9597]

Thank you for sharing this. I'd never thought of it that way. This would help explain egg morphing and legitimize the black goo.

[@noelhutchins7366]

(My take has been) the hive stuff starts as excreta sloughing from joints and pores of any xeno (including the eggs and face-huggers), this Pre-Hive-Primer deposits on surfaces xeno touch; the primer is clear serum of live microscopic tethers, proteins that organize themselves into capillary channels: surface mater organic-primer coats plus atmosphere provide sufficient substance to grow dark durable material of hives. The final product are massive channels (identical in form to tiny initial microscopic capillaries) made of growing superimposed layers.

[@helbeze770]

@Red Elite Thats what happens when your to smart.

[@Filthy_Larry]

It’s always gooing. It drools. It slimes even from its hands and tail. When it touches you, it’s already getting the stuff on you. Xenomorphs are strong. They sit the victim down in a pile of slime until it hardens minutes later. It then proceeds to wool more layers with its hands After that most likely is it stings the victim with its tail putting enzymes in him eating from the inside. Turning the victim into an egg.

[@flashkraft]

I think its possible a hive could be kinda like a plant. Like a tree. Once they reach a certain size they can grow new chambers on their own and self heal. Also a queen, when implanted into a hives egg chamber, the hive becomes an extension of the queens nervous system. Allowing her to feel everything that happens in the hive. So as soon as an intruder enters the hive the queen can sense it.

[@leogendary133]

But then Ripley would have been ambushed by the drones and warriors when she went for Newt and the soldiers would've too when searching for the people.

[@kaiju-odanny9778]

The Xenomorphs, their Hives, and their personality were supposed inspiration for Destoroyah. Just imagine how frightening are the Destoroyahs matches to that of the Xenomorphs of his/their ferocious and aggressive nature in the Godzilla Universe.

[@axelusul]

I thought a function of the live hive when it's lifecycle and food sources were exhausted could have had parts of the structure begin to chemically break down and with the acid and fluids of the xenomorphs and Queen be drained and pooled under what could be long canon like structures where a special type of egg are fired almost like spores from a "puff-ball" into the planets atmosphere into space. This would be a chemical clock where the hive after no contact dissolved to create it's own explosive cocktail which would brew and send it's spawn into space in a toughened asteroid like "seedling".

[@KSmithwick1989]

I think you're talking about 40k Tyranids.

[@Mystickrage]

@@KSmithwick1989 why the fuck would they need to do that they would legit just fucking eat the world till they had enough biomass to build one of there crusier species and porbably just break the world to leave it

[@DarkLadyAthena1]

As two pointed out here, it is similar to the Tyrannids from Warhammer 40K and the bugs from Starship Troopers, and it also reminds me of the 1970s Invasion of the body snatchers. It'd be terrifying but cool if there was a connection or a fanfiction was done about this. I think that what happens once the Xenos consume everything is that they lie in a dormant state. So does the hive. It is alive in terms of the bio matter used by Xenos to keep their victims cocooned/transformed but as the Aliens, it won't show any activity unless another host species steps to initiate a new cycle. This is what makes the Xeno so interesting. There's still a lot left to speculation and regardless of the environment, they always adapt or mold it to suit their needs.

[@wickedthemadhatter9713]

If the hive has some form of the black goo that was engineered to act a specific way it would explain the process of egg morphing

[@syntaxed2]

I always assumed the similarities between organic derelict ship design and the xeno hive appearance was not a coincidence.

[@johnjones6049]

AvP Extinction is one of the best Alien productions of all time... a totally underrated game... 👍😎👍

[@Inignot12]

I salute the work you've put into this.

[@lorrewatkins5925]

It would have been so cool to see a Xeno egg-morphing, to see its behavior ! There is some speculations, or claims that Xenomorphs has thee ability to go down in Hibernation mode. It also could be in my opinion that the hive, although not alive, but has some form of nerve-system, that the Xeno's can some how feel or respond to, and the same could be applied with the Over-morph .

[@eljefe3864]

As they're extremely adaptable, I'd think that all xeno's could produce the resin if necessary, but some will only do so if in complete isolation

[@gordondavis6168]

The hive has neural tissue and circulation which allows aliens to “plug in” and hibernate and live in suspended animation until new hosts arrive. The queen can communicate with her troops through the hive tissue. The hive is similar to the a borg regeneration cubicles.

[@CrimsonReaper189]

something that could apply to both the small hives u talked about and the living ones is spiders will create webs away from their main web to act as alarm systems could it be the mini hive was going to work as the aliens alarm while it slept or even to set relays so that it could sense around the area. this could also apply to the living idea as it would be a organic defence system far more capable as it could hide the hive and disrupt scanning within its structure.

[@jacobepstein5779]

I'm sold. Good on ya, thx for giving me something interesting to think about.

[@matthewfisher7108]

The hive trapping heat backs up AVP 2010, in which the marine campaign has you face up against a Xenomorph queen sitting on boilers and Tequila makes a comment about how Aliens like the heat

[@leon187saltosax]

This reminds me of dead space one where the necromorphs made a similar living organism on the walls of the ship

[@alanmartinez6877]

I’m thinking that The heat helps ovomorphing as it maintains moisture and the hives are always depicted as humid areas and you need moisture for things to rot faster which speeds up the ovomorphing process

[@MatthewBester]

Aliens Labyrinth was my first graphic novel. Love it!

[@rboertchristofaro3586]

I think the xenomorph hive is some what like a fungus that interact's independently and spreads and grow's but I love the idea that HR-giger came up in the the first alien film when there's no queen present and but there's dead or alive victim's that grow into egg's by being absorbed/assimilated from the ensign of the secreted resident's

[@lorrewatkins5925]

Does the Xeno's have a home-planet, or is that simply a myth ? And if so, how would the Xenomorph Planet look like plus the environment ?

[@silent_stalker3687]

Basically depends on the series Earth war: yes a home planet. AVP: myth it seems, they were engineered but by it’s just a genetic/species home planet, not what we’re familiar with. Alien series: unknown, most likely no. Cov series and prequel: no Cov AVP: no home planet

[@spaz5310]

Good analysis, but why didn't you include Alien Isolation's hive? It's very consistent with many of the other hives you discussed.

[@scifiexplained]

I never completed the game... I need to go back and finish it or at least watch a lets play. I need to do it since I have comics and a novel tied to isolation that I haven't finished either.

[@trentberry6968]

Always thought the hives where alive and it added to how unnerving they felt.

[@kerrumz1]

I dunno. Really think Ridley Scott needs to hand the franchise over. His stories have been lackluster to say the least.

[@trentberry6968]

@@kerrumz1 Alien Covenant . . . . . Was just awful

[@N9olan]

No food source, they taste but don't eat, their blood acid acts like a high powered battery-all biomechanical.

[@StrickenGhoul]

Something I've been trying to find is if any Alien material has a storyline of the leftover bodies staying in the hive to be morphed into eggs if the queen dies or something. Or just broken down into the walls for the hive if not fed on by the aliens. No one ever gives attention to the body after the chestbuster has run off....that I can find. Are there any places to look?

[@andrearoach7505]

It can be thought of as a symbiotic relationship, maybe a bacteria like biofilm. Maybe like how salamanders are infected by algae when they are still in an egg, that infection helps them survive.

[@jessicalypso8839]

It's a shame that they couldn't include that scene.. The guy melting into an egg is truly horrifying.. 😬

[@jacobweatherford4696]

It's been my theory that queen aliens just like warm places because they wanna be comfortable while building their hives.

[@Wavemaninawe]

But they can survive in the vacuum of space. At least temporarily. So their comfort level should probably not require much. Could it otherwise be for the hosts? Most of the hosts shown have been rather fragile (compared to xenos), and would need that favorable environment.

[@Filthy_Larry]

@@Wavemaninawe prove that they can live in the vacuum of space.

[@dimitrilitovsk2372]

Honestly an egg silo isn't a bad idea

[@johnpayne5590]

Fun fact: The xenomorph shaped designs on the walls are actually used, In the 2010 avp game, the xenomorphs hide on the designs and ambush you.

[@jonathankrueger1449]

I think in the Aliens Adventure game I have from back in the day it says something about the xenomorphs feeding off of electricity that exists in the walls they make and that they use the electricity to communicate with each other.

[@izzeypally]

People need to like (or dislike) the shit they watch. Come on, people. He made a thing, you watched the thing, like or dislike the thing! It doesn't cost you anything, not even effort. He put in a lot of effort to give you something to watch. Be cool!

[@Filthy_Larry]

I put effort into a lot of my streams and they don’t amount to shyt. You don’t see me crying. Do you?

[@peoplez129]

Since the original xenomorphs come from engineers or the black goo, the main modes of existence are the same. Engineers plug into their ships, and the ships not only naturally create a livable environment, but also even nourish the engineers when they are plugged in. So the ship itself stores food within its hull. The same applies to Xenomorph hives. They are to create a specific environment suitable for xeno's, with temperature and atmospheric control, along with acting as food storage for when they need to go into long term hibernation after they've picked a planet clean. They may have some way of plugging into their hive like a stasis pod, where it provides a steady drip of nourishment as needed. Or they simply eat the hive material directly as needed. If you notice on desolate planets where aliens have been found, there are not extensive hive structures. And that's probably because they digested them to survive. Another factor would be the issue with xenomorph blood. If they just setup shop anywhere for the long term, and a xeno dies of old age or illness somewhere, and rots, their acid blood could spill out and create a mess, while the hive material would be immune to acid blood. Imagine if every time an ant died, it would melt a big hole in the nest. Eventually that would cause a lot of problems in the living spaces. The hive material might even absorb things like acid blood over time, and other left overs from feeding, acting like a recycling system, where it can then become part of the hive material and also still act as nourishment storage.

[@dazz98524]

>"like an ant hive" ->"bees, bees have hives idiot" >"you know what I mean"

[@Liminal-Galaxy-System6819]

Damn this is cool!! The more I learn about Alien and the way xenomorphs and their hives work, the more I realize how much inspo the Duffer Brothers took inspo from the franchise for Stranger Things 😂🤣

[@crabbuckets7506]

More alien videos please! Good job bro 😎

[@virtintin3069]

Oh my, I really missed your Alien videos ❤️

[@scifiexplained]

thanks! I've missed making them!

[@Codoxnz]

You can see a real life analogue to ant, termite, bee and wasp nests; they all maintain a warm environment that's optimal to the nests function, and nest reproduction. Take ants specifically, they have vastly different locomotion when they are cold, versus when they are warm or hot. The warmth acting as a dual purpose, helping the gestation of the egg, and helping with the Alien's thermal regulation allowing it to move freely. Pretty much all insects work in this fashion. Also that's a cool idea that they work as a battery, and if they're getting nutrients through those hive nodes, they've got to be using chemical potential as their energy source - which would make a lot of sense, giving that acid's basically work through stripping electrons off metals that are on the activity scale, the alien's blood is essentially battery acid, add some metals too it, and the acid can steal their electrons and essentially recharge / feed itself - so I think you're right, I think they sit in the hives alcoves absorbing nutrients to recharge their chemical potential. The tubes on their back might be working as a terminal vent, which again makes sense, since some nutrient reactions with their blood would produce a gas, and this gas would need to be regulated out of their blood system as to not change their internal pressure. Explains why they don't need oxygen either, and why they are essentially extremophiles.

[@Filthy_Larry]

Where does it say they don’t need air?

[@parmadacruz8755]

My idea for a third alien/prometheus movie is as follows: The engineers are the main characters in the movie and comes to the planet that was in the Prometheus movie. There they find Weyland inside the crashed spaceship. They have a blue elixir which they empty all over him and bring him to life. In the next part they arrive at the planet from alien covenant and find the other robot(Walter) who is david's twin.The engineers use the blue elixir and repairs him. Once awaken the engineers and Weyland get to know all the horrible things that David has done, and weyland says "we have to stop David" . They set course for origae. When they arrive,they scans all the planet,and finds the planet is full of hostile organisms except on a high mountain where they discover that there are humans inside a cave. Inside the cave they meet a herd of children, who tell that when they had lived on the planet for over ten years, they began to be attacked by Xenomorphs and all the adults died or were turned into these creatures. There were also great giants developed by someone the children calls David. The engineers get ready to wipe out all the Xenomorphs that David has created, but the great giants manage to escape with one of the engineers' spaceships. The engineers and Weyland hunts the spaceship and manage to force the spaceship down on the planet lv426.Where it start sending a distress signal. The engineers return to Origae to find David, but discover that he has escaped. In the last part we see David arriving and meeting an unknown alien species on a tropical like planet.And that makes the cliffhanger that ends the third movie.

[@aronbraswell1589]

not sure but, I think in the comics one has a ship fully infested with xenos to such an extent it is like they are living in a queen of sorts. living ships concept boggles the mind. so many weird questions come up

[@MrGsking12]

The motion trackers are tracking motion so that would mean the hive would be constantly moving but I do think it is more like an inside the hive and don’t doubt it could even be alive but not in the same sense more like a simple single cell organism but on a massive scale

[@wasdwasd609]

When playing the games the Aliens were able to detect any life that touches the hive material. Although in the movies I don't think its on the floor, I like to think its sort of like a creep substance where they are connected to it though touch. Kind of like reverberation, they know something is there including its height/weight but not exactly what it is. The fact that they cuddle up into the walls would also support this because being more in contact would strengthen this connection. Either way its always been so cool, I love hive-like hierarchies.

[@phantomhurricane666]

the derelict ship in alien was filled with a blue fog that, if you listen carefully, hums when it comes into contact with organic life, basically telling the eggs to get ready to open. i forget which film it was, but one of the xenos sticks its second mouth/tongue into a corpse, so they do eat their victims if the area is "safe". even bugs can't eat when they're getting shot at.

[@skipssnakes7468]

Was just about to tell you about the hive nodes from extinction when you brought it up. Love that game!!

[@luke_1234]

Interesting video...well done!!!

[@shrimp8752]

Ah yes, thank you KZbin this is the content I want :) subscribing 👌 great video

[@jasonleslie203]

Its highly probable that the xenomophs were hiding in the ceilings at varies places within the station hive. The drones didnt react to anything until the chestburster screeched when killed

[@danhulson8703]

i never like the egg morphing idea, but that probably because it's a unfinished idea.I always thought that the hives were parasitic themselves and spread further and grew more over time once the hive foundation was built then it spread like a fungus\parasite

[@The1-800Chesh]

In alien 4 I thought ripely was just falling into aliens who carried her away

[@geoffreykelli1159]

The 1-800-Chesh It looks too amorphous to be individual aliens. I always thought it was a weird scene that didn’t make much sense. But if Ripley fell into a living part of the hive (that may act differently than a regular hive due to the genetic differences of these aliens) then it makes more sense.

[@jantonakakis1520]

@ 9:37, the interior of the egg has the same colour as the interior of the wrap-around helmet of the engineer (or engineered).

[@joe.black-mortem.angelos]

I dunno about the Hive. I definitely think it's made of living materials but I don't think it's alive. You know what I think is alive? The Engineer Juggernaut, and I think it is grown rather than built.

[@OfficialNukeDukem]

What if the facehugger and egg are a single organism? What if there's a neural interface between the two? That would explain why it is able to hibernate and still react to external stimuli. That would reduce the organs needed in the facehugger to only those needed for subduing and impregnation of a host, since we know it does shortly after impregnation.

[@demonpredalien8290]

Something I do not believe you mentioned is in broforce when a hive was a boss in the game if you want do more research

[@scockery]

8:49 Last Queen Encounter on Film? You mean chronologically? Alien Vs Predator movies?

[@mallek2005]

I hope the have an Alien Cilo in the sequel to Alien Covenant, whenever that comes out

[@travisgartside409]

I just want to know how they grow so fast without consuming food/material. To grow from chest buster to drone they would have to consume some form of sustenance

[@luthermcgee3767]

Strangely enough, I always thought that the hive was alive. In Alien resurrection, when Ripley was "swallowed" by a huge mass, I always thought that that was a hive animated and therefore alive, taking her within the hive. The reason why the hive in aliens didn't move, was because it was dormant. Just saying.

[@jdulast]

I would say the Runner Alien was not creating a hive but simply resting in a secluded area. I don't think it had the instincts to do so being more of one track minded killer than other xenos.

[@saulpaul8422]

The aliens kill each other and fuse the corpses with their secreded resin to build the hive it's mentioned in the comic books. I first heard about it from "Off the shelves reviews"

[@rileyvickers3537]

I’m about it

[@lorrewatkins5925]

What is "Bigcha" ??

[@gagaplex]

I always figured it was more like a bee hive: Saliva and substances secreted and formed into typical shapes.

[@davidthomas9190]

Great video 😆

[@randywilliams6248]

Sooooo, has it ever been answered if there was a Queen on the Derelict or no? I hate it if David was eventually going to put them there.

[@scifiexplained]

On the Alien covenant blu ray is a short with David telling Weyland yutani he is working on the xenos and making a queen. No word on if there is one on the derelict, however some expanded universe material mentions a queen in derelict.

[@Farlomous]

actually one of the books, "River of Pain" i believe it was which tells the story of Aliens from the colonists perspective states that when Newt's parents went into the derelict they found bodies of dead engineers and xenos along their path (different path then the Nostromo took) to the Space Jockey's chair. at one point the saw an engineer impaled by a queen and it's arm shoved into the queen's mouth. so if this story is canon, which I don't know if it is, then there was at one point a queen. there are just so many different theories out there and with this covenant garbage muddying the waters even more, the true story could be lost. They really need to have an Alien and Predator story team come in and go through everything throw out what doesn't work and keep what does.

[@millerlucerojames]

Hm ... I May have one idea and that's ... Well what of the nest were made of other xenomorphs ??

[@Filthy_Larry]

That’s a stupid idea.

[@kiplingin5023]

Do alien king exist?.. sorry just curious.. 👍👍👍

[@rileyvickers3537]

Yes lol, late response. I forget what comic it was in but I’m pretty sure it was in one of the comics

[@OpenMawProductions]

The nest seen in the deleted scene from Alien is little more than a slime to restrain Dallas and Brett for the transformation process. It shows no signs of being alive. The hive as seen in Aliens is not alive, no. It is composed of secreted resin and appears to be spun and woven to form various alcoves and channels. Alien 3 has no hive. Alien Resurrection has a very different hive due to the mutation, the big reveal of the "viper pit" seems to be a fusion of several of the aliens into one giant mass. The hives seen in AVP and AVPR are very similar to the one seen in Aliens. Again, spun/woven biomechanoid resin. Hives are not living things. They are strongholds for the aliens.

[@Filthy_Larry]

The alien injects enzymes into your blood by the barb of its tail. Egg morphing. The slime that makes the hive is what comes from the xenomorphs body all over the place. Especially the hands.

[@trisF1981]

It would make sense especially if the aliens come from the goo, therefore their secretion would contain some form of goo.

[@carolrigby2217]

Alien hives are closest to termites in structure/design.

[@yuriyfazylov5506]

there are some animals able to construct their mate right here in reality

[@Philtoid]

Slay it queeeen

[@austinzion4903]

In my own theory. I thought the egg morphine of Dallas was to create royal jelly to make a new Queen?

[@chadkoehler6838]

Are they more like androids ? They don't seem to eat and there only purpose seems to be like terminators 🤔

[@Workerbee-zy5nx]

The term xenomorph and hive is James Cameron and not Geiger..2nd film was comin book like, 1st film was horror..If Geiger wrote Alien..it would be scary..very scary..👈👈👈

[@glengatt3941]

The hive is like camouflage for them too,it look more like an incomplete alien nest the other organic structure,if you look closely at the bottom it looks pretty similar, your imagination is large nest and black goo that's it's a bit too far

[@mrmysterious8124]

Can you look at Godzilla planet of the monsters🐉

[@nicholasdickens2801]

I’d reckon so.

[@citationpending8547]

You might have missed the eyewashing sinks.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

I see them like masses of symbiotic sponges and siphonophores

[@bambino100011]

You know.... with all the destruction the alien xenomorph does on humans, you would think they would nuke them to hell and back to be done with them....just saying 😉

[@johnsteiner3417]

It amazes me how much people out of thin air from arbitrary style choices.

[@hmmdoh7835]

Sosa’s fox sold to Disney n I doubt Disney wanna make any alien films Even they do the characters gonna sing until they get hunt XD

[@Needabikewithstabilizers]

How about going mowing death about the alien king instead of him just being killed really fast by the queen more of History

[@Diarmuhnd]

Go read the old comics, nuff said. lol

[@petervlcko4858]

they are alive in that regards they are living tissue and also dead in that regards they are technology. imo

[@a.n_9364]

Is it me or do all these KZbin guys sound the same 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@mikebowermaster4250]

Explain everything. Leave no mystery to the story.

[@oliwermattsson1913]

No

[@firstacheronqueen4256]

u smart human😏😉😄 sorry but my hive is not alive i need quite 🤣 jeez

[@cardminatorful]

first off the engineer's ship is not infested with a hive but rather a big bio weapon transporter.in alien there no other hints of alien activity in the upper levels.also the queen needs least another alien like to move the eggs around mainly due to the limited movement of the egg sack.no eggs dont look like they randomly placed or on the top of the pit rails.the hive nest most likely is alive in small kind of sense.some kind of early warning system like spider webs.u havent picked up on the marines radios were not working.i think the motion trackers were working fine but the resin is some kind of jammer.again most likely designed by the engineers to help the hamper a destroying force killing the nest.i dont think they like the cold in the first avp the queen was inmobile when frozen so i think they try to find the hottest area

[@shokurozu277]

"Guy-gur", is how you pronounce Giger, not "Gig-er"

[@damonroberts7372]

Incorrect. The artist himself said for english speakers, his name rhymes with "eager".

[@gregnuna]

Damon Roberts incorrect. The artist said perceive it in your own way.

[@mrmysterious8124]

Can you look at The Silence👹

[@cthulhluftagn3812]

Probably a unpopular opinion, but I ignore extended universe lore since so many different writers end up making things a clogged up mess. I also ignore Prometheus and it's sequels beacuse they are Garbage. Chariots of the gods ripoff pieces of crap...

[@timetellersunion3711]

Jesus bless you

[@michellezboy]

No, they are not.. I’m done here

[@Me4-gc8qs]

it's fiction... I wish you all paid as much attention to the real world as yo do fiction. Then maybe the world wouldn't be as fucked as it. Please study the real world and realise fiction means shit....