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Eastern meadow voles eat most available species of grasses, sedges, and forbs, including many agricultural plant species. [5] [9] In summer and fall, grasses are cut into match-length sections to reach the succulent portions of the leaves and seedheads. Leaves, flowers, and fruits of forbs are also typical components of the summer diet.
Voles thrive on small plants yet, like shrews, they will eat dead animals and, like mice and rats, they can live on almost any nut or fruit. In addition, voles target plants more than most other small animals, making their presence evident. Voles readily girdle small trees and ground cover much like a porcupine. This girdling can easily kill ...
Alfisol and Ultisol soil types are particularly favored due to being favorable to the vole's burrowing system. [2] Voles feed on both the roots and stem system and the vegetation of plants, as well as fruits, seeds, bark, subterranean fungus and insects. [4] Because they feed on roots and tubers, voles do not need to drink water much. [3]
Unlike moles, voles are vegetarian and feast on the roots and stems of plants, says Smith. The animal may tunnel to root systems, eating the roots and chewing the main stem just above the ground.
They eat green plants, seeds and berries in summer and bark and buds of shrubs at other times. Predators include mustelids, owls and hawks. Some sources include the tree voles, genus Arborimus, in this genus. At one time, the two species of heather vole were considered to be a single species. The complete list of living species is:
Caterpillars of the liatris borer moth (Carmenta anthracipennis) bore through the plant's stems. Groundhogs, rabbits, and voles also eat the plants. [16] Deer are less likely to eat Liatris spicata than other plants and therefore considered deer-resistant, although deer will eat almost anything when food is scarce. [15] [17]
The western meadow vole (Microtus drummondii) is a species of North American vole found in western North America, the midwestern United States, western Ontario, Canada, and formerly in Mexico. It was previously considered conspecific with the eastern meadow vole ( M. pennsylvanicus ), but genetic studies indicate that it is a distinct species.
Despite their loud, aggressive-sounding buzzing and red-eyed, rather frightful appearance, the periodical cicadas due to emerge en masse this spring in Illinois do not pose a threat to humans ...