Many damsel bugs catch and hold prey with their forelegs, similar to mantids.

They are considered helpful species in agriculture because of their predation on many types of crop pests.

They and other genera are most numerous in fields of legumes such as alfalfa, but they can be found in many other crops and in non-cultivated areas.

They are yellow to tan in color and have large, bulbous eyes and stiltlike legs.

The earliest definitive record of the family is Cretanazgul from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber of Myanmar, belonging to the subfamily Prostemmatinae.