Members of the most species-rich genus of soapberry bugs, Leptocoris, live throughout Africa, South Asia, and Oceania. Across the oceans, members of genus Jadera live only in the Americas. The world-dividing distributions of these two genera contrast with that of Boisea, the smallest soapberry bug genus. Boisea species have a disjunct distribution, with one or two species in Africa, India, and North America, each. This discontinuous distribution may be a reduced representation what was previously a vaster, less fragmented range.
The global distribution of soapberry bugs underscores their dependence on sapinds, for they are only found where members of Sapindaceae occur. Africa, where the greatest number of species live, may be their continent of origin.