Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866)

Mostovski, Mike B., 2016, A review of scuttle fly genera of Israel (Diptera: Phoridae), with new records and an identification key, Zootaxa 4137 (1), pp. 61-72 : 66

Megaselia scalaris (Loew, 1866)

Material. Israel: 2♀ Havat Matityahu [nr Bar'am, 33°03'52"N 35°27'13"E], 10.ii.2016, on Tuber aestivum .

Remarks. This is a truly cosmopolitan species, which was introduced even to the Antarctica ( Nickolls & Disney 2001), and finding it in Israel is neither surprising nor unexpected. However, it is formally a new record for the country and a new record of phorids found in association with the summer truffle Tuber aestivum . Scuttle flies of this species are most commonly associated with decaying organic matter (Disney, 2008).