The fossil record and geological history of wasps of the family Bethylidae is reviewed, and three new fossils are reported from Early Eocene amber of France. They all belong to the subfamily Epyrinae and are described as Rhabdepyris gallicus n. sp. - earliest known representative of this modern genus, Elektroepyris magnificus n. gen. and n. sp., and an undetermined Epyrini. The new fossils emphasize the high diversity of the subfamily Epyrinae during the Eocene.