The family Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) is reviewed with the goal of providing nomenclatural changes and morphological diagnoses in preparation for a new molecular phylogeny and a book on world fauna that will contain keys to identification. Most subfamilies and some tribes of Pteromalidae are elevated to family level or transferred elsewhere in the superfamily. The resulting classification is a compromise, with the aim of preserving the validity and diagnosability of other, well-established families of Chalcidoidea. The following former subfamilies and tribes of Pteromalidae are elevated to family rank: Boucekiidae, Ceidae, Cerocephalidae, Chalcedectidae, Cleonymidae, Coelocybidae, Diparidae, Epichrysomallidae, Eunotidae, Herbertiidae, Hetreulophidae, Heydeniidae, Idioporidae, Lyciscidae, Macromesidae, Melanosomellidae, Moranilidae, Neodiparidae, Ooderidae, Pelecinellidae (senior synonym of Leptofoeninae), Pirenidae, Spalangiidae, and Systasidae. The following subfamilies are transferred from Pteromalidae: Chromeurytominae and Keiraninae to Megastigmidae, Elatoidinae to Neodiparidae, Nefoeninae to Pelecinellidae, and Erotolepsiinae to Spalangiidae. The subfamily Sycophaginae is transferred to Pteromalidae. The formerly incertae sedis tribe Lieparini is abolished and its single genus Liepara is transferred to Coelocybidae. The former tribe Tomocerodini is transferred to Moranilidae and elevated to subfamily status. The former synonym Tridyminae (Pirenidae) is treated as valid. The following former Pteromalidae are removed from the family and, due to phylogenetic uncertainty, placed as incertae sedis subfamilies or genera within Chalcidoidea: Austrosystasinae, Ditropinotellinae, Keryinae, Louriciinae, Micradelinae, Parasaphodinae, Rivasia, and Storeyinae. Within the remaining Pteromalidae, Miscogastrinae and Ormocerinae are confirmed as separate from Pteromalinae, the former tribe Trigonoderini is elevated to subfamily status, the former synonym Pachyneurinae is recognized as a distinct subfamily, and as the senior synonym of Austroterobiinae. The tribe Termolampini is synonymized under Pteromalini, and the tribe Uzkini is synonymized under Colotrechnini. Most former Otitesellinae, Sycoecinae, and Sycoryctinae are retained in the tribe Otitesellini, which is transferred to Pteromalinae, and all other genera of Pteromalinae are treated as Pteromalini. Eriaporidae is synonymized with Pirenidae, with Eriaporinae and Euryischiinae retained as subfamilies. Other nomenclatural acts performed here outside of Pteromalidae are as follows: Calesidae: elevation to family rank. Eulophidae: transfer of Boucekelimini and Platytetracampini to Opheliminae, and abolishment of the tribes Elasmini and Gyrolasomyiini. Baeomorphidae is recognized as the senior synonym of Rotoitidae. Khutelchalcididae is formally excluded from Chalcidoidea and placed as incertae sedis within Apocrita. Metapelmatidae and Neanastatidae are removed from Eupelmidae and treated as distinct families. Eopelma is removed from Eupelmidae and treated as an incertae sedis genus in Chalcidoidea. The following subfamilies and tribes are described as new: Cecidellinae (in Pirenidae), Enoggerinae (incertae sedis in Chalcidoidea), Erixestinae (in Pteromalidae), Eusandalinae (in Eupelmidae), Neapterolelapinae (incertae sedis in Chalcidoidea), Solenurinae (in Lyciscidae), Trisecodinae (in Systasidae), Diconocarini (in Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae), and Trigonoderopsini (in Pteromalidae: Colotrechninae). A complete generic classification for discussed taxa is provided.

Chalcidoidea are mostly parasitoid wasps that include as many as 500 000 estimated species. Capturing phylogenetic signal from such a massive radiation can be daunting. Chalcidoidea is an excellent example of a hyperdiverse group that has remained recalcitrant to phylogenetic resolution. We combined 1007 exons obtained with Anchored Hybrid Enrichment with 1048 ultra‐conserved elements (UCEs) for 433 taxa including all extant families, >95% of all subfamilies, and 356 genera chosen to represent the vast diversity of the superfamily. Going back and forth between the molecular results and our collective knowledge of morphology and biology, we detected bias in the analyses that was driven by the saturation of nucleotide data. Our final results are based on a concatenated analysis of the least saturated exons and UCE datasets (2054 loci, 284 106 sites). Our analyses support an expected sister relationship with Mymarommatoidea. Seven previously recognized families were not monophyletic, so support for a new classification is discussed. Natural history in some cases would appear to be more informative than morphology, as illustrated by the elucidation of a clade of plant gall associates and a clade of taxa with planidial first‐instar larvae. The phylogeny suggests a transition from smaller soft‐bodied wasps to larger and more heavily sclerotized wasps, with egg parasitism as potentially ancestral for the entire superfamily. Deep divergences in Chalcidoidea coincide with an increase in insect families in the fossil record, and an early shift to phytophagy corresponds with the beginning of the “Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution”. Our dating analyses suggest a middle Jurassic origin of 174 Ma (167.3–180.5 Ma) and a crown age of 162.2 Ma (153.9–169.8 Ma) for Chalcidoidea. During the Cretaceous, Chalcidoidea may have undergone a rapid radiation in southern Gondwana with subsequent dispersals to the Northern Hemisphere. This scenario is discussed with regard to knowledge about the host taxa of chalcid wasps, their fossil record and Earth's palaeogeographic history.

One hundred-four extant species of Eupelmus Dalman (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae: Eupelminae) are recognized from the Palaearctic region, of which 76 species of E. (Eupelmus) are recognized following a revision of the Palaearctic fauna of the subgenus. The following 25 species are described as new: E. (Eupelmus) adustus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) angustifrons Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) bicolor Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) brachypterus Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) brachystylus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) brachyurus Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) fasciatus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) gelechiphagus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) hayei Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) infimbriatus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) iris Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) kamijoi Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) lanceolatus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) luteipes Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) magdalenae Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) mehrnejadi Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) melanostylus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) punctatifrons Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) setosus Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) tanystylus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) tetrazostus Gibson & Fusu n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) vanharteni Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) weilli Fusu & Gibson n. sp., E. (Eupelmus) xenium Fusu & Gibson n. sp., and E. (Eupelmus) zebra Fusu & Gibson n. sp. Of previously described species of Eupelmus, 17 are newly assigned to E. (Eupelmus), 10 to E. (Episolindelia Girault), and 8 to E. (Macroneura Walker). Formally transferred to E. (Macroneura) from Macroneura are E. (M.) algiricus (Kalina 1981), E. (M.) coleophorae (Kalina 1981), E. (M.) impennis (Nikol’skaya 1952), E. (M.) longicornis (Kalina 1981), E. (M.) pleuratus (Kalina 1981) and E. (M.) sugonyaevi (Kalina 1981) n. combs. Eupelmus (Eupelmus) kalinai Gibson & Fusu n. name is given to replace E. (Eupelmus) algiricus Kalina 1988, a secondary homonym of E. (M.) algiricus (Kalina 1981). New synonyms proposed are Eupelmus scolyti Liao 1987 n. syn. under E. (Eupelmus) formosae Ashmead 1904, and Eupelmus nigricauda Nikol’skaya 1952 n. syn. under E. (Eupelmus) microzonus Förster 1860. Eupelmus gueneei Giraud 1870 and Eupelmus xambeui Giard 1900 are transferred to Arachnophaga (Parasolindenia Brues) as A. (P.) gueneei (Giraud) and A. (P.) xambeui (Giard) n. combs., and Eupelmus kim Nikol’skaya 1952 is transferred to Brasema Cameron as B. kim (Nikol’skaya) n. comb. Eupelmus puparum Newport 1840 is transferred to Pteromalus Swederus (Pteromalidae) as P. puparum (Newport) n. comb., a secondary homonym of P. puparum (Linnaeus 1758), and Ceraphron brachynterae Schwägrichen 1835 is removed from Eupelmus and Eupelmidae, and the name treated as incertae sedis. Lectotypes are designated for Eupelmus azureus Ratzeburg 1844, Pteromalus cordairii Ratzeburg 1844, Eupelmus hostilis Förster 1860, and Eupelmus splendens Giraud 1872. Neotypes are designated for Pteromalus audouinii Ratzeburg 1844 and Eupelmus bedeguaris Ratzeburg 1852. Newly recorded from the Palaearctic are E. (Eupelmus) orthopterae (Risbec 1951) and E. (Eupelmus) peculiaris Narendran (2011). Excluded from the Palaearctic are E. (Eupelmus) afer Silvestri 1914 (Afrotropical) and E. (Eupelmus) longicorpus (Girault 1915) (Australasian), the former being compared to E. confusus Al khatib 2015 and the latter to E. iranicus Kalina 1988 and E. kalinai. Seven informal species groups are recognized for the purpose of species comparisons, the fulgens-, fulvipes-, iranicus-, orientalis-, splendens-, stramineipes-, and urozonus-groups. The latter group is restricted to E. urozonus Dalman and five other species that were differentiated initially using molecular evidence. Females of all 76 species of E. (Eupelmus) recognized from the Palaearctic are keyed, described and illustrated. Males are recognized for 44 of the species, and keyed and illustrated, though not all males of the fulvipes- and urozonus-groups are distinguished from each other.

Eulophidae is a hyper-diverse family of chalcidoid wasps with 324 genera, about 5300 described species and probably thousands of others to be described. Until now, the absence of unequivocal morphological apomorphies and the low resolution provided by the handful of Sanger sequenced genes have hampered the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships within the family. Here, we used ultra-conserved elements and their flanking regions to resolve relationships among 84 species of eulophids included in 63 genera representing all subfamilies and most tribes, plus 15 outgroups. Our analyses recover all traditional Eulophidae subfamilies and tribes with high support and globally agree with the traditional classification of the family. Our results confirm that Eulophinae + Tetrastichinae is the sister group of (Opheliminae + Entiinae) + Entedoninae. At the generic level, our analyses provide high support for intergeneric relationships for which morphology and Sanger markers previously failed to provide resolution. Our results also confirm that Trisecodes does not group with Eulophidae and may not belong to this family; however, its correct classification still awaits a large-scale phylogenomic hypothesis for Chalcidoidea. This work opens new avenues towards a better understanding of the evolutionary history, biogeography and evolution of host–parasitoid associations in this hyper-diverse family of chalcidoid wasps.