Death's-head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos).
Back in part 30 of this unified analysis, we speculated some more on the hidden plot in The Silence of the Lambs, insofar as we'd been trying to figure out exactly what's going on with the moths in the movie. Since that post, we've determined that Crawford is working with Lecter (as described in part 54); also, I recently did some research on moth and butterfly symbolism. With this additional information, we can finish up on figuring out the movie's hidden plot.
Recall that Lecter asked Starling if the object found in the West Virginia victim's throat was a butterfly; Starling responds, "Yes - a moth." Later in the movie, Crawford tells Starling by phone that a crate of live caterpillars from Suriname, addressed to a 'Jame Gumb', was stopped at LAX* "two years ago". And, recall that one of the biologists whom Starling consults about the moth cocoon (see screen capture above) says that its species is Acherontia styx (which is native to Asia); we've determined that he's deceiving Starling, and that the species is, in reality, Acherontia atropos, which is from Europe or the Middle East. Since LAX is on the West Coast of the U.S., across the ocean from Asia, it seems that if Gumb wanted to import styx, they would likely come into the U.S. at LAX; then, he could have had such a shipment 'disguised' by having it go indirectly through Suriname (which is in northeastern South America). This implies that Lecter, since he appears to have been expecting Gumb to use butterflies, must have found out from Crawford about the stopped shipment himself at some point in time before the discussion with Starling. Acherontia atropos, which, as mentioned above, is from Europe or the Middle East, would likely come into the U.S. on the East Coast. The biogists tell Starling the moth is A. styx so that if she then tells Lecter this, he will think the stopped crate was a shipment of styx disguised as butterflies from Suriname, and thus, he won't know Gumb is really using atropos (recall from part 30 that the symbolism of atropos is more closely related to what Gumb is specifically doing, than is the symbolism of styx. The symbolism of these two moths is also discussed in part 80 of the analysis of The Silence of the Lambs).
According to the Dictionary of Symbols, the butterfly is a symbol of resurrection.[a] Recall that during his escape, Lecter effectively stages his own death, then 'resurrects' himself (as the Antichrist) in the ambulance. Perhaps the fact that Gumb wanted to 'cheat' Lecter out of his resurrection is being symbolized by Gumb's act of switching from using butterflies, to using moths instead.
The Dictionary also says that the Aztecs considered the butterfly to symbolize "the soul or the breath of life exhaled by the dying. A butterfly fluttering among the flowers represented the soul of the warrior who had fallen on the battlefield"[b] Recall from the analysis of The Silence of the Lambs that Gumb visibly exhales blood just before he dies, and that the wind twirler hanging from above in this scene depicts a butterfly flying among flowers.
The moth, on the other hand, symbolizes "the soul seeking the godhead...attracted like the insect fluttering round the candle until it burns it wings".[c] In recent posts in this analysis, we have symbolically connected Hannibal Lecter with candles and with the Jewish menorah, a special type of candelabrum. That Gumb decided to use moths might symbolize the idea that he himself wanted to become God, or become like God, which is really what Lecter wants to do; then, Gumb switching from butterflies to moths is connected with the fact that he attempts to deceive Lecter - about the true number of victims, and thus about the the metaphorical 'days of creation'. Basically, Gumb is trying to 'have it all' for himself.
Note that it is not necessary for Lecter to have personally known Gumb, or for the two of them to have had a specific pre-arranged plan, for the hidden plot to proceed as has been described; Lecter and Gumb may have only known of each other, through Benjamin Raspail. In fact, if Lecter had never met Gumb, or had not had much direct dealing with him, this would mesh with the fact that Lecter has not sufficiently realized his shadow, which is represented by Gumb (as described in part 55 of this analysis).
A couple of final observations on the hidden plot are in order. First, when theorizing why it is that Gumb would think he could use the small thigh of Clarice Starling for the eighth and final patch of skin for his suit, one must remember that his attempt at creation is a bungling one, and thus it's not completely surprising that he'd at least consider this as a possibility when Starling shows up at his door. In fact, it may even be the case that Lecter knew Gumb was botching things, and that he sent Starling to Gumb knowing that Gumb would think he could use her thigh; in other words, Lecter sent Starling to Gumb with the idea that Gumb would have an additional reason to want to kill her (other than just that she is investigating the girls' deaths), and thus, that he'd have a reason to let Starling into his home. As we've said, Lecter desires that Starling lose the confrontation with Gumb. Then the question is, how exactly it could be that Lecter knew Gumb was botching things. Perhaps Lecter realized this when he studied the file Starling passed him, and noticed sloppy behavior such as the ineffective weighting down of Frederica Bimmel's body.
Finally, some people may object to my hidden plot theory by stating that the reason Jame Gumb weighted down Bimmel's body was not to trick Lecter, but instead so that the authorities would not be able to find the body, and thus not be able to trace their way to Gumb through Bimmel. However, recall that neither Bimmel's father nor her good friend, Stacy Hubka, seemed to know about Gumb; thus, the only 'tracing' that could have been done was precisely that 'accidentally' done by Starling, to Mrs. Lippmann's house. There is nothing connecting Gumb to Bimmel in the first place, so Gumb's weighting of her body has nothing to do with his not wanting to be traced through her. Concerning the photos in Frederica's music box, it could not have been Gumb who took them, because if Frederica had at any point returned home with any photos Gumb took, she would no doubt have mentioned Gumb to her parents and to Stacy Hubka [Recall Hubka (paraphrasing): "I would have known if Frederica had a boyfriend."] Basically, Gumb 'owned' Frederica from the moment he met her in or near Chicago; at first, the two of them related as lovers or at least friends, then later, after Gumb found out about Mrs. Lipmann's house from Frederica, he kept her captive, then skinned her.
[UPDATE 7/7/11: According to imdb.com, the moths used in the movie are actually Tobacco horn worm moths, carefully 'disguised' to look like Acherontia atropos (Death's-head Hawkmoths).]
*'LAX' is the abbreviated name for Los Angeles International Airport.
a. See note 78.
b. Krickeberg, Walter, 'Les religions des peupels civilises de Mezo-Amerique', in Religions amerindiennes, translated from the German by L. Jospin, Paris, 1962. See note 78.
c. See note 78.
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