Strong Bad™
'Cause butterflys are pretty.

BritPunkRules
A butterfly emerges from the chrysalis as a new creature. Buffalo Bill (the killer) believes he is going through a transformation into a new being. Also Clarice is transforming from an unsure rookie into a fully fledged detective, a naive girl into a wordly woman. A chrysalis is found in a body in the film which gives Clarice a clue as to Bill's state of mind about changing.

Wire and String
you might try WATCHING THE MOVIE BEFORE YOU WRITE A PAPER ON IT seriously. its the laziest most enjoyable school work you'll ever do.

Apogee
PLEASE watch the movie. It isn't a butterfly it's a moth...a death's head moth

welshchef
They're not butterflies, they're actually Death's Head Hawkmoths. In the book by Thomas Harris they're said to be the Malaysian breed. "Acherontia Styx" is the Latin name which comes from two rivers in hell (Hades) according to Greek mythology.However, the moths shown on the posters are actually "Acherontia atropos" which is the European strain. In the book by Thomas Harris, and in the film, the moths are found lodged in the throat of one of the victims of Buffalo Bill (aka Jame - pronounced 'Jamie' - Gumb) who breeds them in his home. Apparently, the actual skull image featured on the back of the moths on the posters is not the actual skull-likeness that is on the moths in real life. It's actually a picture by Salvador Dali made up of nude women arranged in such a manner to look like a skull The discovery of the moth by Special Agent Clarice Starling is a significant clue to the uncovering of Buffalo Bill's true identity and as a result enables her to track him down and leads to the conclusion of the book/film.

christine,rice cake queen
I seem to remember it being a death's head moth, not a butterfly. Why don't you research it properly instead of taking the soft option on here, where most answerers appear to know little more than you do When I was a student, those studying Psychology were a very serious, conscientious group of people, and the hard exams demanded long hours of reading and research