These beetles are cosmopolitan, being found in Nearctic, Palearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian ecoregions.

[1] Beetles of this family are elongated and usually found on flowers or stems.

Adult males are about 10–15 mm in length, while females are a bit larger.

The predaceous larvae grow under bark or in leaf litter.

These following genera belong to the family Lycidae: Data sources: i=ITIS,[3] c=Catalogue of Life,[4] g=GBIF,[5] b=Bugguide.net[6] †Burmolycus Bocak et al. 2019 Burmese amber, Cenomanian †Cretolycus Tihelka et al. 2019 Burmese amber, Cenomanian †Electropteron Kazantsev 2012 Dominican amber, Miocene †Miocaenia Wickham 1914 Florissant Formation, Eocene