Model-organism-relative
Guides
Manduca quinquemaculatus
Five-spotted Hawk Moth, Tomato Hornworm
Manduca quinquemaculatus, commonly known as the five-spotted hawk moth or tomato hornworm, is a large sphinx moth whose caterpillar is a significant agricultural pest. The adult moth has a wingspan up to 5 inches (12 cm) and is a strong flier active at night. The larval stage feeds primarily on tomatoes and other Solanaceae plants, causing extensive defoliation when populations are high. The species is closely related to and often confused with the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta).
Tribolium freemani
Freeman's flour beetle
Tribolium freemani is a flour beetle closely related to the model organism and major stored-product pest Tribolium castaneum. First described from Kashmir, India around 1893, the species was rediscovered in 1973 in Japan in a shipment of corn from Brazil. It can hybridize with T. castaneum, producing sterile offspring. The species has been primarily studied for comparative genomics, particularly regarding 5S rRNA gene organization and satellite DNA composition, which differs markedly from its sibling species despite high gene sequence homology.