It's a bug-eat-bug world in Homewood

In Homewood, they take their trees seriously. And their bugs, too.

The village is planning to release two more species of "goodbugs"_thousands of them_to help stave off pests that can chew throughleaves and destroy trees.

Two insects_the delicate green lacewing and the tiny Trichogrammawasp_will be released in a few weeks in the south suburb. They'lljoin an already-hungry population of ladybugs the village has beencultivating for 30 years as part of its biological pest controlprogram.

The new bugs are native species and exist in smaller numbersthroughout the area. But village officials want to increase theirnumbers so the bad bugs don't take over.

"We're going to increase the numbers because, if we don't act now,there's no way we can control it," said Jim Tresouthick, thevillage's forester and landscape maintenance supervisor.

One of the biggest threats to trees in the Chicago area besidesthe Asian long-horned beetle is the gypsy moth. It preys onhardwoods, and its young_in the form of caterpillars_chew leaves soefficiently they can defoliate a tree in a single season.

Homewood has been spared a gypsy moth invasion so far, but thepests are present in big numbers elsewhere and likely to spread, saidTresouthick, who's hoping the good bugs keep them at bay.

Good luck, said Jim Cavanaugh, who oversees the gypsy moth controlprogram for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. He said nothinghas been proved to work against the moth: "It's not something theycan count on."

But the good bugs help cut down on other pests such as aphids,leaf hoppers and scale insects, and Cavanaugh allowed that when itcomes to the gypsy moth, "We might as well try anything."

Homewood is one of just a handful of communities that usesbiological pest control, said Phil Nixon, an extension specialist inentomology with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Towns must make sure to maintain a balance between good and badbugs, Tresouthick said, something Homewood plans to do.

This year, the town will spend $350 on insects, and villageemployees will release the bugs in several spots: the Izaak WaltonNature Preserve, Apollo Park, the village's old tree farm area andaround Ravisloe Country Club.

It's a cheap and easy way to deal with pests, Tresouthick said,considering the village spends $90 per tree and plants 200 of them ayear.

"It's a lot of guesswork," Tresouthick said. "But if we don't helpour trees out, they're not going to help us out."