The first Italian case of Megaselia scalaris (Loew) breeding in a human corpse is reported from an exhumed body in Southern Italy. Based on predilection of some Phoridae for older carrion and their delayed arrival at a corpse, the scuttle flies are usually relegated to a secondary forensic role. However, they may occur even in the early stages of decay as the only insect evidence especially in bodies that have somehow been at least partially sheltered from colonization by larger flies through burial.
