![]() Southern Red-Backed VoleĪs their name suggests, southern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) have reddish-brown fur on their backs. In spring, when the snow melts, you might see these odd-looking tunnels of dirt and grass on top of your lawn. When other food is scarce, they sometimes eat meat.Īctive year-round, meadow voles clip grass to create tunnels. Meadow voles eat many greens and seeds, including crops, garden produce, fruits, and the bark of fruit trees. Luckily for the predators, lots of meadow voles live throughout most of Minnesota, especially in grasslands, near wetlands, and in grassy woodlands. Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) are an important prey species for hawks and many other animals. The ears are there they’re just not very apparent. Voles are the easily distinguished from the mice by their short tails and the seeming absence of ears. Minnesota’s voles, lemmings, and the muskrat belong to the Muridae family. Voles are herbivores–they feed mostly on plants. Mice are omnivores–they eat both plants and animals. While most mice have long tails and large ears and eyes, voles are chunky and usually have small ears and eyes and short tails. Sometimes harvest mice use the abandoned nests of marsh wrens instead of building their own. They weave ball-like grass nests, about the size of a baseball, usually with a single opening, in shrubs or among grasses. Harvest mice harvest their food by bending stalks of plants and biting the heads or by gathering seeds from the ground. They eat weed and grass seeds, grain, and caterpillars. Western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) are excellent climbers, reapers, and weavers. These small, uncommon mice scurry around all year, mostly at night, in weeds and grass in southern Minnesota. Prairie deer mice nest and stash their food, such as seeds of bush-clover, in underground burrows. Woodland deer mice are good tree climbers and nest on the ground, in hollow stumps, or under logs. For reasons we don’t understand, white-footed mice sometimes drum on a hollow plant stem or leaf with their front feet to produce a buzzing sound. Both are common throughout Minnesota.įemale white-footed mice carry their young by the backs of their necks to safety, much like a cat carries her kittens. Both are called deer mice, probably because they are the same color as white-tailed deer–dark above and light below. Two species of deer mice live in Minnesota: the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse (P. Note the large ears and eyes and the white underside of the body and tail-all distinguishing characteristics between the deer mouse and house mouse. Deer MiceĪdult Deer Mouse – Adult deer mouse. Hunting moving prey takes a lot of skill, so parent mice are thought to take their young out to teach them to find, chase, and capture their food. They also eat some plants, wasps, flies, spiders, and small mammals. Grasshopper mice eat mostly grasshoppers, beetles, and moths–both the insects and insect larvae. The parents care for the young and bring them food as they grow. Unlike other mice, males and females form pair bonds and defend the nest and young ones against large intruders, even people. Like little wolves, northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster) stake out tiny territories and hunt for food in family “packs.” To communicate with each other, they stand on their hind feet, nose in the air, and call with a high-pitched “howl.” You might say they howl like wolves! Biologists classify these mice in the family Muridae. Here are some of Minnesota’s native mice. All rodents have two pairs of incisors with chisel-like edges for gnawing and cutting. ![]() ![]() Squirrels, gophers, porcupines, and beavers are bigger rodents. That’s why the world has about 10 times as many species the size of a mouse as it has species the size of a deer. As a rule, small creatures can find more places to live than big ones can. ![]() Why? Because many rodents are small, they need less food and tinier shelters than big species need. Rodents are the most widespread and numerous mammals on earth. Minnesota has many kinds of mice and and close mouse relatives, including voles, lemmings, muskrats, jumping mice, and pocket mice. They lack a white underside and have a relatively hairless tail.Įveryone knows what a mouse is. Adult House Mouse-House mice are frequently found in residential households. ![]()
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