I think it's wise to avoid assumptions of actual
fear. I've often said that the Queen's aversion to fire might simply be due to sensory overload - sensitivity to thermal extremes could be used to supplement hunting techniques. Whether or not they'd literally
see heat signatures is open to debate, but they might still sense the direction of where a slight difference in heat or cold could be coming from (here on Earth, rattlesnakes have heat-sensitive pits near their eyes to detect prey, but nobody knows if they somehow superimpose that data on their eyes or just sense the direction the heat's coming from).
A lot like if you're wearing night vision gear and a sudden flare of light would blind you. Doesn't mean it's in any way physically painful. Just that you have a reason to try and avoid it.
If so, then perhaps the Queen's reaction should be perceived as not fearful, but one of annoyance. She certainly seems angered when the welding torch is being used in her face.
I've speculated in the past that this line of reasoning might be why Newt's tracker was removed and discarded in the nest; it could have been sending out a signal the creatures were detecting and wanted rid of.
Could be a clue as to how they were able to sense where the Marines were residing, many miles away and on what level, at the film's start. Or how the original creature knew where Dallas was in the shafts, both horizontally and vertically.
Amusingly, this could also mean that things like motion trackers might actually be an Alien equivalent of holding up a big neon sign saying "FREE PREY HERE".
Out of interest, Val, I forget where, but isn't there an article you've penned where it references O'Bannon speculating the Aliens are meant to be stranded "blood relatives" of Cthulu's family tree?
