The Insect that flew to Gandalf in the movie..??
 

When Gandalf was held prison on top of the Orthanc by Saruman....a butterfly or flying insect came to him. <P>What was that creature....this happened before Gandalf escapes on the eagle(galadhir)<P>Thanks,

It was supposed to be a moth.

I thought it was a butterfly or a moth. A very nice little moment I thought - we saw the scale and enormity of Orthanc, the skill and wisdom of Gandalf, and the willingness of the natural world to help Gandalf. It was also a neat contrast of the beautiful butterfly and the horrors going on below.

It was a moth actually. I was guessing it to be a Lunar Moth, becuase of the anteana. Did I spell that right? Did you notice that he spoke to the moth? The effect really brought to life the terrible things that where happening underneath the tower.

I liked that scene with the flying moth.

In the book, Gandalf is rescued by chance by an eagle sent by Radagast the Brown, a wizard who has "much lore of herbs and beasts, and birds are especially his friends". The moth encapsulated Radagast in a tidy little cameo.

i like the idea that amongst all this power and glory, albeit corrupted, a tiny element of nature comes to Gandalf's aid. Another interpretation of the scene could be that the moth/butterfly acted as a messenger for Gandalf, passing news of his urgent need as a whisper through the flying animal kingdom until it finally reached the eagles. Is it clear what Gandalf said to it? Could it have been "Find Thorondor, he'll know what to do?"

Who or what is Thorondor......???

Thorondor's the Eagle that rescued Gandalf

Thoronder was the mighty eagle of the first Age, Gwahir is the eagle who rescued Gandalf.

Elrian is correct: it was gwahir the wind-lord. And I was kind-of hoping that the moth would rescue Gandalf!

The silence of the lembas:<P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by peregrine:<BR><STRONG>i like the idea that amongst all this power and glory, albeit corrupted, a tiny element of nature comes to Gandalf's aid. Another interpretation of the scene could be that the moth/butterfly acted as a messenger for Gandalf, passing news of his urgent need as a whisper through the flying animal kingdom until it finally reached the eagles. Is it clear what Gandalf said to it? Could it have been "Find Thorondor, he'll know what to do?"</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Exactly!!!!

It's amazing what Middle earth Moths can do!<p>[ January 10, 2002: Message edited by: Elrian ]

... and how smart passing-by foxes can be.

The last two words Gandalf said to the moth sounded alot like "Gwahir go!"