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| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{make cite IUCN|Walker, A. 2021. Photinus brimleyi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T164075844A166771768. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T164075844A166771768.en. Accessed on 18 March 2024.}}</ref>
| genus = Photinus
| species = brimleyi
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'''''Photinus brimleyi''''', or '''sidewinder firefly'''<ref name="Faust">{{cite book |last1=Faust |first1=Lynn Frierson |title=Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs |date=2017 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-4872-8}}</ref> is a species of [[firefly]] in the
==Description==
''P. brimleyi'' is a medium-sized [[beetle]], with adults measuring {{cvt |10-14|mm|in|1}} 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.<ref name="Faust"/>
==Life Cycle==
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.<ref name=iucn/><ref name="Faust"/>
==Behavior==
Adult male ''P. brimleyi'' fireflies fly {{cvt |0.3 - 2|m|ft|1|}} 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 {{cvt |1-2|m|ft|0|}} 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 {{cvt |15|cm|in|0|}} high on low vegetation. The male and female communicate in this way until the male finds the female and they mate.<ref name="Faust"/><ref name="Lloyd1966">{{Cite journal|last=Lloyd|first=J.E.|date=1966|title=Studies on the Flash Communication System in ''Photinus'' Fireflies|journal=Miscellaneous publications (University of Michigan. Museum of Zoology)|issue=130|pages=1–95|url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/56374/MP130.pdf;sequence=1|language=en}}</ref>
==Habitat==
This firefly can be seen in damp, mature forests, fields, lawns, and dry upland scrub forests.<ref name="Faust"/><ref name=iucn/>
==Range==
''P. brimleyi'' has been recorded in the southeastern United States, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.<ref name=iucn/>
== References ==
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