They walk on their mid and hind legs; the front pair is raptorial.

For example, the tribe Metapterini, while having a worldwide distribution, has the majority of its diversity confined to tropical islands.

[2][3] The first cladistic analysis of the Reduviidae (assassin bugs) based on molecular data (mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA) was published in 2009.

[4] The analysis sampled only seven specimens of Emesinae, though five of the six currently recognized tribes were included.

The analysis suggested that the Emesinae are polyphyletic with respect to the Saicinae and Visayanocorinae.