The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina
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North Carolina's 189 Odonate species
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Related Species in COENAGRIONIDAE: Number of records for 2025 = 4

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[View PDF]		Seepage Dancer (Argia bipunctulata) by Mark Shields
Compare with: Familiar Bluet   Atlantic Bluet   Hagen's Bluet  
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Note: these identification tips apply specifically to mature males; features may differ in immature males and in females.
Argia_bipunctulata

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Click on county for list of all its records for Seepage Dancer
Flight Charts
Distribution Scattered throughout the Piedmont and western two-thirds of the Coastal Plain; of spotty occurrence in the mountains and eastern Coastal Plain, and apparently absent in the Tidewater zone.
Abundance Fairly common to locally common in the Sandhills region. Elsewhere, rare to uncommon (and perhaps local) across the Piedmont and the western 50-60% of the Coastal Plain (excluding the Sandhills). Rare in the mountains and central Coastal Plain, and apparently absent in nearly all counties that border the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. There have been relatively few recent records from the Piedmont, and it seems likely to have declined there, where it is now essentially rare.
Flight Mid-April to mid-October in the Coastal Plain, and mid-May (if not earlier) to late September in the Piedmont. The few mountain records fall between late May and late August.
Habitat As the name implies, found around seeps or boggy places, where there are abundant sedges. Most NC records are from the margins of ponds, typically with boggy margins.
Behavior This species looks and behaves like a bluet (genus Enallagma) and not a typical dancer (genus Argia). Males perch somewhat inconspicuously on grasses or other vegetation, very close to shore, but often in sunny places. They seldom perch on the ground like other dancers, another feature that makes a Seepage Dancer more like a bluet!
Comments This dancer can be easily overlooked because it often perches low in dense herbaceous vegetation around pond margins and seepage areas. Two one-day tallies of 100 in Scotland County are by far the most seen in a single day; the next highest tally is 40 individuals. Paulson (2011) indicates that, because its seepage habitat is somewhat limited, populations tend to be localized and not widespread over a large region. Despite it having been reported from over 45 counties in the state, one must travel to the Sandhills to have a reasonable chance of finding this species.
State Rank S3S4
State Status
Global Rank G4
Federal Status
Synonym
Other Name
Species account update: LeGrand on 2023-01-18 10:53:47
Photo Gallery for Seepage Dancer   19 photos are shown. Other NC Galleries:    Jeff Pippen    Will Cook    Ted Wilcox
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 1 by: John Petranka, Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin, Sally Gewalt

Comment: Richmond; C, 2025-06-28, East Seep study site along Nusery Road - Recorded in the NCBP survey of the Sandhills Game Land		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 2 by: B. Bockhahn

Comment: Richmond; C, 2025-06-26, Sandhills Game Land - Sandhills Seep
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 3 by: B. Bockhahn

Comment: Richmond; C, 2025-06-26, Sandhills Game Land - Beaver Pond		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 4 by: Rob Gilson, Carolina Butterfly Society

Comment: Scotland, 2024-06-02, Sandhills Game Land; Kinney Cameron Lake, photo by Lori Arent
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 5 by: Harry LeGrand, Lori Arent

Comment: Richmond; C, 2022-08-17, Sandhills Game Land -- Bagget Lake area - at seep crossing a dirt road. Photo by Lori Arent		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 6 by: Paul Hart

Comment: Harnett; C, 2019-07-26 - Anderson Creek County Park
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 7 by: Scott Pohlman

Comment: Cumberland, 2019-07-05, Kornbow Lake		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 8 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Onslow, 2019-05-27, Stones Creek Game Land, Dry Lake area
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 9 by: Richard Stickney

Comment: Richmond; C, 2019-05-13, Naked Creek at Derby Road - mating pair		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 10 by: Hunter Phillips

Comment: Onslow, 2019-05-06, Stones Creek Game Land
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 11 by: Mark Shields

Comment: Scotland, 2018-09-03, Scotland Lake, Sandhills Game Land		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 12 by: Mark Shields, Hunter Phillips

Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-15, Scotland Lake and in-flowing creek, Sandhills Game Land
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 13 by: Mark Shields, Hunter Phillips

Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-15, Scotland Lake and in-flowing creek, Sandhills Game Land		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 14 by: Richard Stickney

Comment: Richmond; C, 2016-07-23
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 15 by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin

Comment: Henderson, 2015-05-28, Common in a floodplain bog. 		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 16 by: Conrad Wernett, Alyssa Wernett, Matt Anderson

Comment: Scotland, 2015-05-03 - Recently emerged to mature males and females around Scotland Lake.
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 17 by: Kyle Kittelberger

Comment: Moore; C, 2013-06-12, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve - male at small beaver pond		Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 18 by: Ali Iyoob, Matt Daw, Dan Irizarry

Comment: Scotland, 2011-05-05, Scotland Lake in the Sandhills Game Land
Seepage Dancer, Argia bipunctulataPhoto 19 by: Scott Hartley

Comment: Moore; C, 2006-08-14, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve - male