Is This What Happens??

[Kozmic Blues]

When a butterfly gets old!! do they loose their colour & why do they loose it??

A picture i took of a butterfly i thought was old!!

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e288/fitzer0 6/DSC00253.jpg

[gen2]

The wings of a butterfly are covered in tiny scales. The scales are coloured and make up the pattern like a mosaic, however, they are easily dislodged. Every day through buffeting by wind, collisions with foliage or encounters with birds, the butterfly loses scales and the colour gets progressively paler. Your photograph shows a peacock butterfly that has certainly been around for quite some time and in butterfly terms is 'old'

[Thunderbird+]

Nice sharp picture Kozmic, I'm no expert but this old beauty is just about reconisable as a peacock, a very tattered one at that!
I do know that the colour is made up of multitudes of tiny scales, in this case most of them have worn off for some reason, maybe its as you say, its old and faded ?
Peacocks actually over- winter in hibernation, looks like this fellas ready for the long sleep, unless its been attacked by something, who knows ? Tbird+

[Kozmic Blues]

Yes!! It is a beautiful peacock butterfly. Thanks for reconfirming my thoughts about old age.

Thanx!!

kozmic