Moth

The Moth is the name given to a non-canonical small moth that comes to Gandalf occasionally, forewarning that Eagles are coming, or used by him to summon them.
== In adaptations ==
=== The Lord of the Rings film trilogy ===
When Gandalf the Grey is imprisoned by Saruman the White on the pinnacle of the Tower of Orthanc, with no possible escape, during the night, The Moth appears and when it flies close to Gandalf he grabs it and whispers to The Moth, whom he asks to find and contact Gwaihir, one of the Eagles, that he needs help. The Moth flies away, and shortly thereafter Gwaihir rescues Gandalf.
Months later, the same Moth is also seen during the Battle of the Morannon, flying around Gandalf to advise him that the Eagles are coming, at exactly at the same time at which the Nazgûl are to attack Gondor's and Rohan's armies in the battle mounted on their flying fellbeasts. The Moth was previously believed to be an Antheraea polyphemus, however as the species is a North American native and filming for the series took place in New Zealand, it is now believed to be a male Opodiphthera eucalypti.
The Moth appears twice in The Fellowship of the Ring and once in The Return of the King.
=== The Hobbit film trilogy ===
At the end of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, during the ambush of Azog and his Orcs, Thorin and Company become stranded on uprooted cliff-side trees. Thorin, Fíli and Kíli, Dwalin, and Bilbo rush in to a fight against the Orcs, leaving the rest of the company behind, hanging over a cliff, in attempt to save them. Gandalf, barely hanging on, notices The Moth fly by his face. Shortly after, two Dwarves fall from the tree and are caught by eagles, and the eagles take the company safely to the Carrock.
== Controversy ==
The Moth does not appear in the books, although it is possible that it indirectly appears, as Radagast the Brown says to Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring that he would send any messengers for help.
== References ==
*Moth
Category:Arthropods
Category:Non-canonical characters