Wing details of the specimen in last post below. I am still thinking about what we can learn from wear and tear. In a 2002 paper (https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/13.4.456), Kemp cites numerous butterfly studies that estimated age from wing wear. Specifically:
The wing wear assessments utilized the degree of fading of darker wing regions and feathering of the wingtips, rather than the extent of lost wing area per se, and are hence more sensitive to the cumulative effects of wing scale loss due to aging.
Browsing Google Scholar, I find many references to some kind of "wing score index." I would need journal access to see the method details. Or a decent collection of pinned specimens from which to experiment with quantifying scale wear.
I DID try to evaluate wing wear in a series of Inaturalist photos (all Florida) of Ascalapha odorata, a close ww relative. No association between wear and date. However: most photos were insufficiently clear to score.
The wing wear assessments utilized the degree of fading of darker wing regions and feathering of the wingtips, rather than the extent of lost wing area per se, and are hence more sensitive to the cumulative effects of wing scale loss due to aging.
Browsing Google Scholar, I find many references to some kind of "wing score index." I would need journal access to see the method details. Or a decent collection of pinned specimens from which to experiment with quantifying scale wear.
I DID try to evaluate wing wear in a series of Inaturalist photos (all Florida) of Ascalapha odorata, a close ww relative. No association between wear and date. However: most photos were insufficiently clear to score.