They are mostly found in Europe,[1] west and central Asia and southern Africa.

[3] Their specialist carnivory and appropriately adapted digestive tracts even were regarded as unique in the order Orthoptera, but at least some members of two other subfamilies, the Austrosaginae and Listroscelidinae are partly or completely predatory as well, and until recently those subfamilies were included in the Saginae.

Members of the Saginae are gracile and elongated in build compared to say, most locusts or crickets, but their four anterior walking legs, as opposed to their two posterior leaping legs, are powerful and lined with spines, mainly along their inner edges.

The jaws of Saginae are not spectacular, but are large, powerful, sharp, and businesslike, as befits predators, and the insects do not hesitate to bite when handled.

The Saginae are large insects, some species with a body length of more than 50 mm, not counting the antennae or ovipositor, which are long, typically about as long as the body.