Chalcid wasps are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, meaning the vast majority have yet to be discovered and described. The name "chalcid" is often confused with the name "chalcidid", though the latter refers strictly to one constituent family, the Chalcididae, rather than the superfamily as a whole; accordingly, most recent publications (e.g.,) use the name "chalcidoid" when referring to members of the superfamily.
The superfamily Siricoidea is an archaic group of the order Hymenoptera, consisting of six families of xylophagous sawflies. The group is well represented in early Tertiary and Mesozoic times, but a number of living taxa remain, including the family Anaxyelidae, which has recently been linked to this group. The female ovipositor is typically long and projects posteriorly, and is used to drill into wood.
Anaxyelidae is a family of incense cedar wood wasps in the order Hymenoptera. It contains only one living genus, Syntexis, which has only a single species, native to Western North America. Fossils of the family extend back to the Middle Jurassic, belonging to over a dozen extinct genera, with a particularly high diversity during the Early Cretaceous. Syntexis lay eggs in the sapwood of conifers, preferring recently burnt wood.
The Pamphilioidea are a small superfamily within the Symphyta, containing some 250 living species restricted to the temperate regions of Eurasia and North America. These hymenopterans share the distinctive feature of a very large, almost prognathous head, which is widest ventrally.
The Tenthredinoidea are the dominant superfamily of sawflies within the Symphyta, containing some 8,400 species worldwide, primarily in the family Tenthredinidae. All known larvae are phytophagous, and a number are considered pests.
Cimbicidae is a family of sawflies in the order Hymenoptera. There are more than 20 genera and 200 described species in Cimbicidae. Larvae are solitary herbivores.
Trigonalidae is one of the more unusual families of hymenopteran insects, of indeterminate affinity within the suborder Apocrita, and presently placed in a unique superfamily, Trigonaloidea, and the only extant taxon in the superfamily. The other putative related taxon is the extinct family Maimetshidae, known from the Cretaceous period. Trigonalidae are divided into 2 subfamilies; Orthogonalinae and Trigonalinae. These wasps are extremely rare, but surprisingly diverse, with over 90 species in 16 genera, and are known from all parts of the world. It is possibly the sister group to all Aculeata.
The Eurytomidae are a family within the superfamily Chalcidoidea.
Odopoia is a genus of wasps in the family Torymidae, containing the following species:
Cephidae is a family of stem sawflies in the order Hymenoptera. There are about 27 genera and more than 160 described species in Cephidae.
Megastigmus is a genus of minute wasps. There are more than 134 described species, more than half of which undergo larval development within the seeds of trees and shrubs.
Zdeněk Bouček was a Czech entomologist specialising in the Chalcidoidea superfamily of the Hymenoptera. With Marcus Graham and Richard Askew, Bouček was one of the most important workers studying this large and diverse group in the second half of the Twentieth Century and these three laid the foundations of the modern systematics of the chalcid wasps.
Entedoninae is a subfamily of wasps in the family Eulophidae. The subfamily includes over 90 genera.
Thynnoidea is a superfamily of hymenopterans in the order Hymenoptera. There are at least 2 families and about 10 described species in Thynnoidea.
Tiphioidea is a suggested superfamily of stinging wasps in the order Hymenoptera. There are three families in Tiphioidea, Bradynobaenidae, Tiphiidae, and Sierolomorphidae.
Oraseminae is a subfamily of chalcid wasps in the family Eucharitidae. There are at least 10 genera in Oraseminae.
Karatavitidae is an extinct family of sawflies, known from the Jurassic period, they are the only members of the superfamily Karatavitoidea. While once proposed to be grouped with the Orussoidea in the infraorder Orussomorpha, they are now considered to be the closest relatives of clade containing Orussoidea and Apocrita. There are about 7 genera in Karatavitidae.
Plutarchia is a genus of chalcid wasp in the subfamily Eurytominae. Alexandre Arsène Girault first circumscribed the genus in 1925; its name honors Plutarch. The genus initially only comprised its type species, P. bicarinativentris, found in Australia. Subsequent species from South Asia and Nigeria have been described and transferred to Plutarchia.
