Contributions to the identification of Fannia lineata (Stein, 1895) (Diptera: Fanniidae) in forensic contexts: first record in a human cadaver

Abstract Flies in the family Fanniidae represent an important component of the entomofauna associated with body decomposition and they play an important role in the recycle of the organic matter. Forty species have been reported from the Italian territory but till now only two, Fannia scalaris and Fannia canicularis , have been reported from human cadavers on a larval stage. This paper reports the first finding of a population of Fannia lineata associated with a human cadaver in Southern Italy. The body was in an advanced, partially mummified, state of decomposition with a complex community of insects composed by Diptera (Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Fanniidae, Sphaeroceridae and Phoridae), Coleoptera (Dermestidae, Cleridae and Ptinidae) and Lepidoptera (Tineidae). The puparium of Fannia lineata is described and a key for the identification of the Italian Fannia puparia of forensic interest is provided.