The assassin bugs, Reduviidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are slightly unusual overall, but very common among the Hemiptera (true bugs) because almost all are terrestrial ambush predators (most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic). The main examples of non-predatory Reduviidae are some blood-sucking ectoparasites in the subfamily Triatominae.
Other common names for assassin bugs are wheel bugs and ambush bugs. Leaf-footed bugs look similar but are in a different bug family (
Coreidae).