Based on phylogenic evidence, it is known that mimicry in the North American admirals was a driver of speciation. An essential condition for the evolution of mimicry was the presence and abundance of unpalatable models. Mimetic evolution also involved direct selection with the model acting as a "starting block" for the mimic to evolve against. The drive behind this type of evolution must be predation. Eventually, the mimetic population undergoes phenotypic fixation, usually at a point where the wing pattern and colors of the mimic have reached the closest superficial resemblance of its model. As these processes continued, the subspecies divergences began occurring as the mimetic species expanded their geographical range and began mimicking other species of butterfly.