Manduca

 ( Sphingidae Of South America ) 

Manduca is a genus of in the family Sphingidae, the hawkmoths. The genus is used as a model organism in the biological sciences. The Manduca sexta ( Manduca sexta) and the tomato hornworm ( M. quinquemaculata) in particular have been well studied.Kawahara, A. Y., et al. (2013). Evolution of Manduca sexta hornworms and relatives: Biogeographical analysis reveals an ancestral center of diversification in Central America. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, in press. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1807.