Common white-cheeked jumping spider

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Common white-cheeked jumping spider, also called reckless jumper, is a small jumping spider. It occurs in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and in adjacent Canadian provinces.

The female is ⅛″ to 3 ⁄16″ (4.4 to 5.6 mm) long and has a ¼″ to 5 ⁄16″ (6 to 8 mm) legspan. The male is smaller, ⅛″ (3.3 to 4.2 mm) long. Males and females are very different in appearance.

On the male, the front part of the body (cephalothorax) is high and convex when viewed from the side. The plate covering the cephalothorax (carapace) is mostly rusty brown, with a broad white stripe on each side and black in the area around the eyes. There are four pairs of eyes arranged in what appears to be three rows occupying only two fifths of the carapace. The first row of four eyes, consisting of the anterior median eyes (AME) and anterior lateral eyes (ALE), is curved backward. The AME are the middle and forward-most pair of these. They are by far the largest of all of the eyes and can be moved. The AME are about twice as large as the ALE. The second row of two eyes are the posterior median eyes (PME). They are very small and are barely or not at all noticeable on most photos. The third row of eyes is the posterior lateral eyes (PLE). The PLE are set far back on the head and are only slightly wider apart than the first row of four eyes (AME and ALE together). The PME and ALE form a wide rectangle. There is a bold white band across the forehead that touches the top of the AME, and a broad white stripe on each cheek that is separated from the side stripe by a dark area. The narrow plate above the mouth (clypeus) has a prominent, diamond-shaped patch of white scales between the AME. The prominent mouthparts (chelicerae), corresponding to jaws, are brown. They do not have a patch of pale scales and do not have a ridge near the base of the fang.

The abdomen is on the male is iridescent bronze with a broad white stripe on each side. On the female it is tan or yellowish with four pairs of squarish black spots separated by oblique to transverse white stripes.

The legs are short, oriented forward, and adapted for jumping. On the male they have alternating black and pale areas form distinct rings. On the female they are yellowish with brown rings and spots.

Size

Female Body Length: ⅛″ to 3 ⁄16″ (4.4 to 5.6 mm)

Male Body Length: ⅛″ (3.3 to 4.2 mm)

Legspan: ¼″ to 5 ⁄16″ (6 to 8 mm)

Web

Jumping spiders do not hunt from webs.

Similar Species

Habitat

Weedy fields and nearby trees and shrubs

Ecology

Foraging

Active hunter (Cursorial Hunter)

Prey

Behavior

Life Cycle

Young spiderlings overwinter and become mature adults in the spring.

Season

Distribution

Sources

24, 30, 82, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. 2026-07-13).

Pelegrina proterva (Walckenaer, 1837) in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-06-19 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgy8b

Conservation Biology of Special Concern Jumping Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) of Minnesota; Ehmann, William J. Ehmann; 12/2/2002.