In the Philippines, six Scotinophara species have been reported: S. cinerea Le Guillou (Hasegawa, 1971), S. ochracea (Distant) and S. lurida (Burmeister) (Wogsiri, 1975), S. latiuscula Breddin, S. serrata (Vollenhoven), and S. tarsalis (Vollenhoven) (Miyamoto et al., 1983). None of these species were reported as a rice pest.

The first reported incidence of RBB in the Philippines was in Bonobono, Bataraza, in southern Palawan in September 1979 (Miyamoto et al., 1983). Since then, the outbreak of the pest on rice and swarming of adults around illuminations at night were reported from south to north of the island (de Sagun et al., 1991).

Since RBB has never been found in the islands of the Philippines other than Palawan before 1982, it is likely that RBB had been biogeographically none associated to landmasses west of the Wallace's Line. Being weak fliers, and the generally prevailing winds are east west, they could not have emigrated by flight or displaced by wind; like the brown planthopper. It is likely that RBB invaded Mindanao through insects swarming on boats that operate from Borneo Island or Palawan Island.

RBB inhabits both rainfed and irrigated wetland environments and is not common in upland rice ecosystems (Reissig et al., 1986). During the rainy season, the populations that transfer to the rice plant may also originate from wooded areas (CABI, 2001). It is attracted to high-intensity light and produces an offensive odor when disturbed (CABI, 2001; Rice IPM CD, 2001). RBB is a weak flier. Its adult flies to the rice crop to reproduce over several generations when weather conditions are favourable. It returns to its resting sites after crop harvests. It is capable of migrating long distances by ships and other means of transportation (CABI, 2001). Its flight activity is affected by the lunar cycle (PhilRice, 2000). The availability and quality of food also affects its flight activity. Its flight activity increases when there is no food. There is less migration and dispersal if rice plants are readily available as food in the field (PhilRice, 2000).

In 1980, RBB infestations were observed southern Palawan (Mochida, et al., 1986). There was a major outbreak from March to June 1982, which later spread toward central up to northern Palawan (Miyamoto, et al., 1983, Villareal, personal communication). Ten years later, RBB infestation was observed in Curuan, Zamboanga City of Western Mindanao in late June 1992. In the late 1998, the pest was spotted in the Visayas region, particularly in Kabankan, Negros Occidental. In 2001, the pest was observed in Leyte (Mandras, personal communication). It moved from southern part to western part of Leyte. It was believed to have originated from Mindanao. The spread of RBB in the Philippines is reviewed in a table by Catindig and Heong (2003) (PDF).

It was believed that the spread of RBB was due to frequent boat transportation between islands, the plain cultivation of wetland habitats and host plants and perhaps the lack of indigenous natural enemies.

Locally known as 'itim na atangya', RBB attacks almost all the stages of the rice crop, particularly from maximum tillering to ripening (Reissig et al., 1986; PhilRice, 2000). The nymphs are destructive as it can feed at the basal part of the rice crop for up to 42 days (Simbajon, 1992). The insects prefer stem nodes or the base of the stem as feeding sites because of the large sap reservoirs (Corbett & Yusope, 1924; Reissig et al., 1986). Feeding by large number of bugs can cause plants to be stunted and the leaves turn reddish brown, a condition called 'bug burn'. The area around a feeding site turns brown with dark brown margins that resemble a blast lesion (IRRI, 1983; Lim, 1975).

Like the adults, the nymphs have similar behavior of remaining in the base of the plant during the day and feeding at night. The nymphs reached adulthood after 4 to 5 molts in 25-30 days.