A multilocus analysis of Epicopeiidae (Lepidoptera, Geometroidea) provides new insights into their relationships and the evolutionary history of mimicry

The family Epicopeiidae is a small group of day-flying moths, known for mimicking many different groups of butterflies and moths. So far, there still lacks a reliable phylogenetic framework of Epicopeiidae that is necessary to our understanding of the evolutionary process of their mimicry. In this study, we sequenced 94 nuclear protein-coding markers for 56 epicopeiid samples and 11 outgroups, covering all ten genera of Epicopeiidae. We used homemade PCR-generated baits to capture target sequences, which allowed us to utilize old and dried specimens that were difficult to handle by conventional PCR + Sanger sequencing. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of the newly obtained dataset (86,388 bp) at both DNA and protein levels produced identical phylogenies with strong support. The non-mimicry genus Deuveia is the sister group of other epicopeiid genera. Epicopeia and Nossa are not monophyletic, and these two genera nest together to form a clade. We also estimated divergence times o...