Damsel Bugs
Lat. “Nabidae“ family
of suborder
“True Bugs“ 1 family, 6 species
The insect family Nabidae contains the damsel bugs. There are over 500 species in 20 genera. They are soft-bodied, elongate, winged terrestrial predators. 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.
Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net
Evolutionary history
Several fossil genera have been attributed to the family, including Karanabis from the Upper Jurassic Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan, but it has subsequently been assigned to other families. The earliest definitive record of the family is Cretanazgul from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber of Myanmar, belonging to the subfamily Prostemmatinae.
