With summer weather upon us and people spending more time in their backyards gardening, doing lawn work, or just relaxing it’s likely that soon at least one of your friends will encounter something that will have them take to social media or text you exclaiming, “OMG! I just saw a tarantula!” That super-sized spider that startled your friend is not a tarantula. Those hairy, venomous giants are not found in New York, as that family of spiders prefers much warmer climes such as Florida and the southwestern and southcentral US. That doesn’t mean your friend didn’t see a large arachnid, at least by our standards. Since we’re more accustomed to seeing small jumping spiders or orb-weavers, size is relative and certain spiders stand out. Our biggest local spiders don’t approach the monstrosity of tarantulas (which can be 2.5 to 5 inches in length with legs spanning 3 to 12 inches across) but they are big enough (one half to one inch in length with leg span in exce...