NC Odonate Website

Related Species in COENAGRIONIDAE:

Number of records for 2024 = 2

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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.

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Map

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

Federal Status

Synonym

Other Name

Species account update: LeGrand on 2023-01-18 10:53:47

The Dragonflies and Damselflies of North Carolina
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Photo Gallery for Seepage Dancer 16 photos are shown.		Other NC Galleries: Jeff Pippen Will Cook Ted Wilcox
	Photo 1 by: Rob Gilson, Carolina Butterfly Society Comment: Scotland, 2024-06-02, Sandhills Game Land; Kinney Cameron Lake, photo by Lori Arent		Photo 2 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
	Photo 3 by: Paul Hart Comment: Harnett; C, 2019-07-26 - Anderson Creek County Park		Photo 4 by: Scott Pohlman Comment: Cumberland, 2019-07-05, Kornbow Lake
	Photo 5 by: Mark Shields Comment: Onslow, 2019-05-27, Stones Creek Game Land, Dry Lake area		Photo 6 by: Richard Stickney Comment: Richmond; C, 2019-05-13, Naked Creek at Derby Road - mating pair
	Photo 7 by: Hunter Phillips Comment: Onslow, 2019-05-06, Stones Creek Game Land		Photo 8 by: Mark Shields Comment: Scotland, 2018-09-03, Scotland Lake, Sandhills Game Land
	Photo 9 by: Mark Shields, Hunter Phillips Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-15, Scotland Lake and in-flowing creek, Sandhills Game Land		Photo 10 by: Mark Shields, Hunter Phillips Comment: Scotland, 2017-05-15, Scotland Lake and in-flowing creek, Sandhills Game Land
	Photo 11 by: Richard Stickney Comment: Richmond; C, 2016-07-23		Photo 12 by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin Comment: Henderson, 2015-05-28, Common in a floodplain bog.
	Photo 13 by: Conrad Wernett, Alyssa Wernett, Matt Anderson Comment: Scotland, 2015-05-03 - Recently emerged to mature males and females around Scotland Lake.		Photo 14 by: Kyle Kittelberger Comment: Moore; C, 2013-06-12, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve - male at small beaver pond
	Photo 15 by: Ali Iyoob, Matt Daw, Dan Irizarry Comment: Scotland, 2011-05-05, Scotland Lake in the Sandhills Game Land		Photo 16 by: Scott Hartley Comment: Moore; C, 2006-08-14, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve - male