Spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) constitute a monophyletic family supported by numerous morphological and behavioural traits. The subfamilial and tribal classifications, however, have a history of conflicting and confusing designations and nomenclature. Here, we reconstruct a molecular phylogeny of Pompilidae from Bayesian and maximum-likelihood analyses of four nuclear molecular markers (elongation factor-1 α F2 copy, longwavelength rhodopsin, RNA polymerase II, and 28S ribosomal RNA). A Bayesian divergence-time estimation analysis was performed using four calibration points and an ancestral-area reconstruction was performed with a Bayesian binary Markov chain Monte Carlo method. New relationships are recovered, and new subfamilial delimitations are proposed and discussed based on the phylogeny. The origin of Pompilidae was c. 43.3 Mya, probably in the Nearctic region. Most of the extant subfamilies originated from the late Eocene to the Oligocene, and their current distributions are the product of various dispersal events that occurred over the course of ∼40 Mya. This is the first phylogenetic reconstruction of Pompilidae from molecular characters, with broad geographical and taxonomic sampling. The following subfamilies and relationships are recognized: Ctenocerinae + ((Ceropalinae + Notocyphinae) + (Pompilinae + Pepsinae)). We revalidate Notocyphinae, which contains only Notocyphus, and define a new tribe in Pompilinae: Sericopompilini. Priochilini is reinstated. Sericopompilini contains Sericopompilus as the sole representative; Priochilini contains Priochilus and Balboana. Epipompilus and Chirodamus are now classified as Pepsinae.

Rhabdepyris (Epyrinae) is a cosmopolitan genus comprised of 132 species. No morphological synapomorphies are known for the genus and the genus is characterized by a combination of characters common to most Epyrini. Herein, we performed a cladistic analysis based on morphological characters to test the monophyly of Rhabdepyris. The three known subgenera of Rhabdepyris (Chlorepyris, Rhabdepyris s. str., and Trichotepyris) and other Epyrini (Anisepyris, Bakeriella, Calyozina, Epyris, Laelius, Trachepyris) were included in the ingroup. The cladistic analysis of 48 taxa (46 ingroup species and two outgroup species) and 81 structural characters yielded 72 cladograms under equal weights, and one under successive weighting. Rhabdepyris was found to be polyphyletic; the subgenus Trichotepyris was closely related to Anisepyris whereas Rhabdepyris str. s. was closely related to Laelius. The subgenus Chlorepyris is paraphyletic. Morphological characters are discussed in the light of the new phylogeny; novel characters are proposed and illustrated, and a new classification of Rhabdepyris and Epyrini is proposed. The following nomenclatural changes are proposed: Trichotepyris is synonymized under Anisepyris (syn. n.); Chlorepyris is recognized as a separated genus (stat. rev.); all 12 American species of the subgenus Rhabdepyris are transferred to Laelius; 22 species of Trichotepyris are transferred to Anisepyris; 58 species are transferred to Chlorepyris. A remaining total of 40 species are now recognized in Rhabdepyris. The holotype of Rhabdepyris, R. myrmecophilus Kieffer, the type species of Rhabdepyris, is redescribed.

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Spider wasps had long been proposed to originate in the mid-Cretaceous based on the Burmese amber fossil Bryopompilus interfector Engel and Grimaldi, 2006