First, we see a fresh, clean young male. Notice the sheen on the sparkling-clean wings, and the nice clean body. Also, we see that the pruinosity (or pluminosity if you like) is not yet fully developed, and the yellow side stripes seen in young males are still visible. A beautiful individual in the prime of its live.
Next, we see a middle-aged individual. The pruinosity is fully developed here, and a dark patch is seen in the middle of the abdomen where pruinosity has been rubbed off by females grasping the abdomen at that location during mating. The wings are nice and brilliant, though not quite as "new" looking as in the previous individual.
Finally, we take a look at an individual that is clearly showing the effects of age. The wings are tattered now, with sections missing here and there. The abdomen is faded, though the dark section in the middle of the abdomen can still be seen.
It's amazing that this individual can still function with wings like that, but it was seen flying about seemingly unaffected by the wear and tear.
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