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1 The Philippines is the second largest producer of coconut products and, in some areas, coconut farming is the main source of livelihood. 2 A damaging armoured scale insect (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) infesting coconut palms was first found in the Philippines on Luzon Island (Batangas province) in 2009, and is now affecting most of the provinces of southern Luzon. 3 The scale pest is still spreading in the Visayan Islands and Mindanao. 4 Infestation stops photosynthesis; the leaves yellow and dry; fruits form less nutmeat and the coconut-water is sour; weak new leaflets bend over or break off; and the tree dies in 6 months or less. 5 The scale pest is identified in the present study as Aspidiotus rigidus Reyne; it presents a significant quarantine threat to coconut-producing countries worldwide. 6 Characters enabling the identification of A. rigidus, its host range and distribution are given. 7 Some literature on the natural enemies and control of A. rigidus is reviewed briefly.

Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) is native to South America but has expanded its range and invaded many regions of the world, primarily on flowers and to a lesser extent on horticultural product shipments. As a result of initial invasion into an area, damage caused is usually significant but not necessarily sustained. Currently, it is an economic pest in selected native and invaded regions of the world. Adults cause damage by puncturing abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces for feeding and egg laying sites. Larvae mine the leaf parenchyma tissues which can lead to leaves drying and wilting. We have recorded 365 host plant species from 49 families and more than 106 parasitoid species. In a subset of the Argentinian data, we found that parasitoid community composition attacking L. huidobrensis differs significantly in cultivated and uncultivated plants. No such effect was found at the world level, probably due to differences in collection methods in the different references. We review the existing knowledge as a means of setting the context for new and unpublished data. The main objective is to provide an update of widely dispersed and until now unpublished data, evaluate dispersion of the leafminer and management strategies in different regions of the world, and highlight the need to consider the possible effects of climate change on further regional invasions or expansions.

The addition of a caffeinated green tea, Camellia sinensis L., filtrate (1%) to the nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV) of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hü bner), provided almost complete protection following UVB irradiation (30 min) in laboratory tests. There were few differences in UV protection when extracts were prepared at 27 or at 908C. Moreover, few differences in UV protection were demonstrated following infusion times of 5, 15, 30, and 60 min at 908C. At a 1% concentration, decaffeinated and caffeinated green teas were equally effective as UV protectants. At lower concentrations (0.1, 0.01, and 0.001%) caffeinated green tea provided greater UV protection (UVB/UVB 30, 60 min). Virus/tea extracts (caffeinated), under field conditions at 1 and 5%, were ineffective as UV screens. At a 10% concentration, some UV protection was provided and UV protection further increased in a concentrationdependent manner.

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