Paranthrene species are day flying moths that mimic wasps in both appearance and behavior. The genus has several species with diverse color patterns that are restricted geographically. Many of these color forms were originally described as species before becoming synonymized with each other due to similar behavior and morphology. To date, there have been no molecular multi-gene phylogenetic studies that investigate the monophyly of North American Paranthrene species boundaries. We reconstructed a phylogeny using partial DNA sequence from COI, EF-1alpha and wingless genes with 67 specimens representing all North American Paranthrene species, subspecies, and variants. Monophyly of any P. simulans color forms was not recovered in parsimony and Bayesian analyses. The results also suggest the synonymy of P. simulans, P. pellucida, and P. hilairemontis. Interestingly, the two-color forms of P. tabaniformis comprised two clades, one which was sister to a clade including P. dolli. Individuals of this clade also have a different flight period as P. tabaniformis which suggests the recognition of the clade as a species. Paranthrene robiniae presented as polyphyletic. Genitalic and genetic differences between P. robiniae populations suggest the recognition of two psuedocryptic species.
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