The Peppered Jumping Spider is on many aficionados’ “favorite salticids” list. Widespread in Eastern North America, Pelegrina galathea is found in meadows, old fields, and prairies. The male’s copious white markings and his banded legs and both sexes characteristic dorsal abdominal pattern are keys to sight identification. Two female forms – one with gray scales the other with maroon scales forming the ground color of the dorsal abdomen are shown in the video. Wayne Maddison’s Pelegrina revision is one of a handful of recent technical papers that can serve the naturalist as well as the arachnologist. The species accounts include diagnostic field marks, range maps, and records for each Pelegrina species. Also included are photographs of live spiders and complementary drawings of prosomal (head) patterns. Anatomical drawings and descriptions of various salticid behaviors are additional useful features.

Nineteenth century records for this species are problematic either because they lack specific location data or provide drawings and/or descriptions that appear to represent more than one species. In his 1846 publication Hentz figures and describes two spiders (p. 358) Attus nubilus and A. parvus. Both names are synonyms for Pelegrina galathea. Under A. parvus he describes, A somewhat obscure species, which I believe I have seen in the North, and gives the locations (Habitat) as North Carolina, Massachusetts? The Peckhams’ (1909) figures of Dendryphantes capitatus, in part a synonym for P. galathea, combine illustrations for both P. galathea and P. proterva and were likely influenced by Emerton’s original Dendryphantes aestivalis drawings (1891: pl. XVII: 2b ♀ and 2c ♂) illustrating a female P. galathea and a male that looks like P. proterva.
Maddison W. P. 1996. Pelegrina Franganillo and other jumping spiders formerly placed in the genus Metaphidippus (Araneae: Salticidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 154: 215-368 .

Massachusetts – First State / County Records