Do Xenomorphs eat?

[shadowedge]

Does anyone know if xenomorphs need to eat? I do not recall them ever eating their victims in the films, other than when they burst out of their chest.

[ScardyFox]

One was eating a person in AVP:R - or at least it looked that way.

[Prime113]

One was eating a person in AVP:R - or at least it looked that way.

I watched the DVD commentary with the brothers, that scene come, and they said something along the lines of "Remember, in Alien: Resurrection, you see an Alien eating a human." I don't recall the scene, but I've only seen the movie once.

[Nightmare Asylum]

That's because it didn't happen. Maybe they meant Alien 3? There's a scene near the end where it looks like the Runner could be eating a guy, during the final chase through the prison.

[ScardyFox]

Oh yeah, I remember that one now, Asylum.

[OmegaZilla]

Yup. Also set inthe script as 'devouring Vincent', I believe.

[Vecrotus]

One was eating a person in AVP:R - or at least it looked that way.

I watched the DVD commentary with the brothers, that scene come, and they said something along the lines of "Remember, in Alien: Resurrection, you see an Alien eating a human." I don't recall the scene, but I've only seen the movie once.

Yeah, the brothers said they did it as a reference to Alien³. To me though, the alien in AvPR didn't even look as if it was eating the guy it had killed; it was just puncturing his body with its inner mouth. I'd say Alien³ is the closet that we'll ever come to see an alien eat something.

[swarm87]

in the book steel egg juvenile xenos got into a 500lb vat of ground chuck and supposedly are chunks of metal after regurgitating some acid to soften it up, other than that and the guy the runner ate in 3, i think thats the only time. but everyone is too busy trying to survive i dont think they take the time to check food-stores and wonder where the hole in the wall came from

[Local Trouble]

Given how acidic their blood is, I think they can eat and metabolize virtually anything.  Remember, they didn't appear to eat the dead hosts in Aliens.

[OmegaZilla]

Not that we've seen the entirety of the corpses, or even know how many times they eat in a specific time period.

[Local Trouble]

Their rapid increase in biomass has to come from somewhere.  You'd think a newly born chestburster would immediately start devouring its host to bulk up to humanoid size within a day, but apparently they don't.

What does SM think about all this?

[OmegaZilla]

Their rapid increase in biomass has to come from somewhere.

Nutrients absorbed from host.

At least assuming they do eat. Alien3 and everything, but with Prometheus on the table everything could be reconsidered.

[Local Trouble]

If they do eat, I think it's a lot like how Jeff Goldblum's Brundlefly does it.  Not sure how Prometheus enters into it.  The cobra thing had acidic blood too and could theoretically eat dirt to gain mass.

[MrSpaceJockey]

Also black goop might be another potential food source.

I heard something about the alien in ALIEN not eating the host after bursting because it was shocked at everyone looking at it, and went to look for refuge.  However, the alien in ALIEN 3 would seem to dispute this theory, as it did not eat its host despite the fact that nobody was there.

[OmegaZilla]

If they eat like Brundlefly, their teeth would serve no purpose.

However, the alien in ALIEN 3 would seem to dispute this theory, as it did not eat its host despite the fact that nobody was there.

And then went on to nom him sum prisoners.