| Photinus brimleyi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Lampyridae |
| Genus: | Photinus |
| Species: | P. brimleyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Photinus brimleyi Green, 1956 | |
Photinus brimleyi, or sidewinder firefly [2] is a species of firefly in the Photinus genus. It is found in the southeastern United States. [2] [3] [4] [5]
P. brimleyi is a medium-sized beetle, with adults measuring 10–14 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long. Males and females have very different appearances. The males have dark wing covers, or elytra, with wide, blurred, light-colored side margins, and a pale yellow head shield, or pronotum, with a dark central mark shaped like a mushroom or a teardrop. Flat-lobed lanterns are visible on the male's abdomen. The larviform female resembles a colorful pink and yellow grub with no wings and very small elytra. [2]
Photinus is from the Greek word for shining or bright. [6] The specific epithet is in honor of the naturalist Clement Samuel Brimley, [2] who mentioned the species in his 1938 Insects of North Carolina, although it was not named until John Wagener Green published Revision of the Nearctic species of "Photinus" in 1956. [7]
Beetles such as P. brimleyi go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Photinus fireflies spend the majority of their lives as larvae, which are bioluminescent and likely live below the soil surface, eating snails, worms, and other soft-bodied invertebrates. Adults appear in mid-summer, from late June to early August. [1] [2]
Adult male P. brimleyi fireflies fly 0.3–2 m (1.0–6.6 ft) off the ground and flash to attract the attention of females, starting at sunset or about 15 minutes after sunset. Their flash pattern consists of a fast sideways arc that doubles back on itself. After flashing, the male flies 1–2 m (3–7 ft) forward, then flashes again, about 1.5 to 2.5 seconds later. A female responds with an answering flash from the entrance of her burrow or from a perch up to 15 cm (6 in) high on low vegetation. The male and female communicate in this way until the male finds the female and they mate. [2] [8]
This firefly can be seen in damp, mature forests, fields, lawns, and dry upland scrub forests. [2] [1]
P. brimleyi has been recorded in the southeastern United States, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. [1]
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as a warning signal that the larvae were distasteful. This ability to create light was then co-opted as a mating signal and, in a further development, adult female fireflies of the genus Photuris mimic the flash pattern of the Photinus beetle in order to trap their males as prey.
Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also occurs in the families Elateridae, Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae among beetles; as well as members of the genera Arachnocampa, Keroplatus and Orfelia among keroplatid fungus gnats.
Clement Samuel Brimley was a self-trained zoologist who worked at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. His brother, H.H. Brimley, was a zoologist and long-time director of the same museum. Both Brimley brothers are buried at Historic Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh. Brimley's chorus frog and the firefly Photinus brimleyi were named for C.S. Brimley.
Photuris pensylvanica, known by the common names Pennsylvania firefly, lightning bug, dot-dash firefly and glowworm, is a species of firefly from the United States and Canada. It is also widely known under the Latin name Photuris pennsylvanica, although the original spelling, with one "n", was common in Latinized names of the time and remains the valid name.
Photinus pyralis, also known by the common names the common eastern firefly or big dipper firefly, and sometimes called a "lightning bug", is a species of flying beetle. An organ on its abdomen is responsible for its light production. It is the most common species of firefly in North America, and is typically found east of the Rocky Mountains. Photinus fireflies are often confused with fireflies of the similar-sounding genus, Photuris, which are also found in North America.
The rover fireflies (Photinus) are a genus of fireflies. They are the type genus of tribe Photinini in subfamily Lampyrinae. This genus contains, for example, the common eastern firefly, the most common species of firefly in North America.
Photinus carolinus, commonly known as the Smokies synchronous firefly, is a species of rover firefly whose mating displays of synchronous flashing have fascinated both scientists and tourists. As individual females synchronize with males nearby, waves of alternating bright light and darkness seem to travel across the landscape. Firefly displays typically occur in early June near Elkmont, Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near Gatlinburg. The species can be found in isolated pockets of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States.
Photinus consanguineus, or double cousin firefly, is a species of firefly in the genus Photinus. It is found in eastern North America.
Photinus macdermotti, or Father Mac's firefly or Mr. Mac, is a species of firefly in the family Lampyridae. It is found in North America.
Photinus sabulosus is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in North America.
Photinus ardens is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in North America.
Lucidota atra, the black firefly or woodland lucy, is a diurnal species of firefly — a member of the Lampyridae family of beetles.
Photinus cookii, or Cook's firefly is a species of day-active firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in North America in the Eastern USA, including Florida and Texas.
Photinus concisus is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in Kerrville, Texas. It the species most closely related to Photinus pyralis.
Photinus collustrans is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in North America.
Photinus consimilis, or cattail flash-train firefly, is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in eastern North America.
Photinus indictus, or silent firefly, is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is a diurnal firefly, active during the day rather than at night, with no lanterns. It is found in eastern North America.
Photinus tenuicinctus, or thinly-girdled firefly or Ozark spark, is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in the Ozarks in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Photinus punctulatus is a species of firefly in the beetle family Lampyridae. It is found in North America.
Phausis inaccensa, also known as the shadow ghost, is a species of firefly in the family of beetles known as Lampyridae. It is found in central and eastern United States. The larviform females of the species are bioluminescent, whereas the males are winged but lanternless.
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