This is a close-up view of a Gulf Fritillary butterfly wing.  I'll work on a better one, but it's really really hard to get a butterfly to hold still for a photo, so for now this will have to do.  See how neatly most of the scales overlap?  Then there are a few loose scales scattered here and there that have fallen out.  As a butterfly ages, it loses more and more scales, leaving it looking tattered and worn.