The fraterna species complex is currently comprised of approximately 30 taxa with distinct asymmetrical male genitalia as well as species-specific female genitalia. The most striking asymmetry arises between the two parameres located on the posterior portion of the male genitalic capsule. It is hypothesized that post-copulatory sexual selection is responsible for the observed genitalic diversity because external morphology among species appears evolutionarily static and females are polygamous. An intra- and interspecific analysis of character evolution has been initiated to determine if selection is acting upon male and female genitalic morphologies. A quantitative analysis of intraspecific variation in the type species P. hirticula was carried out to determine the amount of variation available for selection to act upon. Phylogenetic relationships were determined using 1200 base pairs of sequence data from the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI). The mitochondrial lineages do not appear to support the boundaries suggested by taxonomists, which are based primarily on male genitalic morphology. Genitalic characters such as degree of asymmetry and shape of the female pubic process were mapped onto the phylogeny using parsimony and maximum likelihood methods, and suggest higher degrees of asymmetry and complexity are derived relative to the plesiomorphic condition. In addition, character analyses of genitalia among species outside this complex suggest that asymmetrical male genitalia have evolved multiple times independently in this genus. These initial studies of the evolution of genitalia in this species complex provide evidence that selection is acting to produce diverse and asymmetric genitalia.