Queen Mother

Queen Mothers are the supreme rulers of their Xenomorph nests, with even the infamous Queens and lesser-known, but more powerful, Empresses as their subordinates. This species is assumed to be the second strongest type of xenomorph in existence.

Queen Mothers nest in lairs consisting of six orbs arranged around a central orb, in which they will reside. These orbs are interconnected, and contain the prized royal jelly, which molts a Drone into a new Queen Mother when the existing one dies.

They are protected by Palatines - enlarged, elite Drones.

Physiology
Queen Mothers possess acute telepathic and empathic abilities, allowing them to call to their hive over vast distances. One was even capable of melding to the minds of humans during the infestation of Earth. Like their subordinates, Queen Mothers are capable of laying eggs.

The Queen Mother's intelligence is also shown in other ways. When the old Queen Mother's last egg was threatened by Caryn, she returned with a threat of her own by squeezing two of Caryn's allies enough to draw blood. She also showed great loyalty after Caryn let herself be 'implanted' with the Queen Mother's last offspring, saving Caryn and even the Predator 'Big Mama' to ensure the protection of her baby.

Background History
The first Queen Mother was kidnapped by Ellen Ripley, leading to anarchy and chaos on the Hiveworld.

While a Drone was molting to take the previous Mother's place, several deviant, red-tinted Drones were born and rebelled against the primary hive, leading to the creation of a rival hive, led by a red-hued Queen Mother. Massive warfare broke out between the two subspecies over the genetic abnormalities.

A fleet of Colonial Marines were sent to retrieve the Mother's royal jelly, in order to synthesize a highly-addictive drug known as Xeno-Zip. They chose to nuke the Red Mother's hive, to distract the Drones of the original nest while the jelly was being extracted.

The new Queen Mother of the original nest was shot, after it had killed a scientist during the extraction process.

Another Queen Mother appears in the comic book series Alien vs. Predator: Deadliest of the Species, in which it is referred to as 'The Queen of Queens' and 'The Great Mother', where she is believed to only be a legend.

In the series, The Queen Mother is old - no longer capable of reproducing - and hidden on the space Station Samara. She is the only one left of her hive following a 'primo bug-hunt' with one egg left that contains a royal facehugger. In the story, she attacks the group of protagonists when they find themselves in her hive after fleeing from TecSecs (artificial 'bugs' designed to wipe out alien hives). She captures both Maria and the Predator Big Mama. Caryn threatens her remaining egg, only for the Queen Mother to return the threat by squeezing Maria and Big Mama enough to draw blood.

At a stalemate, Caryn makes a final option - offering herself to become the host for the Queen Mother's final offspring. The Queen Mother accepts and gives Caryn the facehugger, with Caryn willingly putting it on her face. After this, the Queen Mother joins the group, saving both Big Mama and Caryn from the TecSecs. When the group eventually return to the Skyliner where Caryn first fled from, they find themselves face to face with a new enemy - The White Hybrids (a hybrid of human, alien and predator). The Queen Mother is one of the group who is captured by the hybrids and impregnated with one of the Hybrid's facehuggers. However, before the chestburster erupts she is able to grab hold of the White Hybrid King and hold him as it bursts, killing both of them.

Appearances

 * Aliens: Earth War
 * Aliens: The Female War
 * Aliens: Genocide