Ladybugs drafted for tree care in Hanover Park

Insects have received a lot of bad press in recent years as the scourge of trees, but Friday morning they were enlisted as saviors.

Scott Weber, street/forestry supervisor for the Hanover Park Public Works Department, released 350,000 ladybugs around the southern part of the village to eat a recent crop of cottony maple scale on maple trees in the area.

The popcorn-like growth tends to occur after cooler, wetter springs - sometimes many years apart. Weber said the last time the public works department actually had to respond to an outbreak was about 12 to 15 years ago.

Though cottony maple scale should be harmless to a completely healthy tree, it can cause further problems or possibly kill off an already sickly tree.

The problem in Hanover Park seems largely confined to an area south of Lake Street, Weber said. That's where he released the ladybugs early Friday.

He paid $500 to have the 350,000 insects delivered overnight from a company in California.

The white cottony masses seen on trees each typically contain more than 1,000 eggs laid by the female insect. Weber said the ladybugs should take care of the problem without causing any side effects themselves to the local environment.