Vole mouse. Lifestyle and habitat of the vole. Forest beauties dangerous to humans - Red and Bank voles Siberian red vole tail description

Red-backed vole - Clethrionomys rutilus Pall.

Features This vole has a bright reddish-red coloration on its back and a relatively short, single-color, densely pubescent tail. The sides are yellow-brown-gray, the belly is whitish with a light gray tint. Winter outfit is brighter and more contrasting. Young ones are painted in lighter grayish tones. Weight 25-30 g. Body length 9-11 cm, tail - no more than 4 cm (usually 3-3.5 cm). On inside posterior molar 4 enamel grooves.
This Siberian vole is distributed throughout Karelia, but inhabits the territory of the republic unevenly. It is more or less common only in the northern regions, and in the south it is quite rare (no more than 1-2% of total number hunted rodents). A curious exception is the years of low abundance of its main competitor, the bank vole. Under these conditions, the red-backed vole can greatly multiply in southern Karelia, as was the case, for example, in 1969 in the Ladoga region. The average indicator of its abundance over all years of observation is 0.06 specimens per 100 trap-days (share in the total catch small mammals 1.5 °/o) and 0.03 - for 10 groove-days (0.2 °/o). The reasons for the low number of red-backed voles in the north-west of the range are not entirely clear, but most likely they are related to the history of the settlement of this Siberian species and his relationship with the dominant native, the bank vole. In the conditions of Karelia, the red vole settles exclusively in forest biotopes, preferring spruce and mixed pine-spruce forests, where it selects the most cluttered areas with rich shrub or forb cover. In autumn, during the period of settlement of young animals, it is somewhat more widespread and is also found in deciduous small forests with an admixture of coniferous species. However, even at this time it avoids open habitats. In winter, it is often found in human buildings, on personal plots, in stacks, sweeps and stacks.
By the nature of their shelters, the red-backed vole is a typical “underlander”, but not a “burrower”. She makes her home in natural shelters, usually well protected from the outside, especially often in the voids between the roots of spruce trees. Here, in the root cavity, she places the main reserves of mosses and cones, a “latrine”, winter “feeding tables” and a nesting chamber. To build all this, the animal does not need to dig the ground. It simply pushes through the moss layer and gets into the intertwining roots, where, slightly compacting the loose litter, it makes passages. Sometimes the shelters of red-backed voles are not located under the roots, but under a moss layer or under mossy dead trees. In addition to the main burrow, the red-backed vole has non-permanent settlements. They are distinguished by the absence of a nesting chamber and permanent supplies; usually only “feeding tables” are located here.

Mice are rarely spoken of in a respectful tone. They are usually described as poor, shy, but very harmful rodents. Vole mouse– this is no exception.

This small animal can significantly spoil the harvest in the garden, and can chew a hole in the floor at home. Judging by photo, voles outwardly resembles ordinary mice and. At the same time, the muzzles of the inhabitants of the fields are smaller, and the ears and tail are shorter.

Features and habitat of the vole

The animals themselves belong to big family rodents and subfamily. There are more than 140 species of field. Almost everyone has their differences, but there are also common features:

• small size (body length from 7 centimeters);
• short tail (from 2 centimeters);
• low weight (from 15 g);
• 16 teeth without roots (a new one will grow in place of the lost tooth).

At the same time, roots were discovered in fossil rodents, but in the process of evolution, field animals lost them. A typical representative counts common vole. This is a small rodent (up to 14 centimeters) with a brownish back and gray belly. Lives near swamps, near rivers and in meadows. In winter, it prefers to move into people's houses.

Some types field mice live underground (for example, mole voles). On the contrary, they lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle. In this case, terrestrial representatives are most often found. For example, among forest rodents the most popular are:

• red-backed vole;
• red and gray field mouse;
• bank vole.

All three species are distinguished by their mobility; they can climb bushes and small trees. In the tundra you can “get acquainted” with pieds and pieds, which also belong to this subfamily.

About 20 species of field rodents live in Russia. They are all small in size. Residents of Mongolia, Eastern China, Korea and Far East less fortunate. It harms their economy big vole.

Pictured is a large vole

In the photo there is a red-backed vole mouse

Rodents prepare in advance for cold weather. Field mice do not hibernate and are active image life all year. Voles in winter They feed on supplies from their pantries. These can be seeds, grains, nuts. Most often, the animals do not have enough food of their own, which is why they run to people’s houses.

However, they do not always end up in the house by accident. Sometimes rodents are kept as decorative pets. Animal vole can live in a small cage with a metal grid filled with sawdust.

There are usually 2-3 females per male. In winter, it is recommended to move them to larger cages and leave them in unheated rooms.

In the photo there is a bank vole

These rodents are also used for scientific purposes. Biological and medical experiments are most often carried out on red and prairie vole. If there are mice in your apartment “illegally,” you should contact the sanitary and epidemiological station. Voles reproduce very actively and can significantly damage property.

Nutrition

The owners of this unusual pet, How mouse-vole you should know that pet needs to balanced diet. The daily diet should include:

• vegetables;
• corn;
• cottage cheese;
• meat;
• eggs;
• fresh raw water.

For those who only dream buy a vole, it should be understood that these are very voracious rodents; they are capable of eating more food than their body weight per day.

Many are sure that in nature field mice omnivorous. However, this is not quite true. The “menu” directly depends on the habitat. For example, steppe animals feed on grass and plant roots. In the meadow, rodents choose juicy stems and all kinds of berries. Forest voles They feast on young shoots and buds, mushrooms, berries and nuts.

Almost all types of mice will not refuse small insects and larvae. Water vole , for unknown reasons, loves potatoes and root vegetables. In general, vegetables and fruits from gardens are the favorite food of almost all field mice.

Rodents in large quantities can cause irreparable damage to the economy. In apartments and houses, mice feed on everything they can steal: bread, straw, cheese, sausage, vegetables.

Pictured is a water vole

Reproduction and lifespan

This is not to say that these are exclusively harmful creatures. In nature, they are an important link in the food chain. Without mice, many predators would starve, including martens and.

However, it is better not to allow wild voles near houses. These are very prolific rodents. IN natural environment in one year, a female can bring from 1 to 7 litters. And each will have 4-6 little mice. In greenhouse conditions, animals reproduce even more actively.

The pregnancy itself lasts no more than a month. Mice become independent within 1-3 weeks. Captive gray voles become sexually mature at the age of 2-3 months. Pets - a little earlier.

The photo shows a gray vole

The lifespan of these rodents is short, and rarely does a mouse live beyond the age of two. However, during this short period, vole can give birth to about 100 cubs. That is, a flock of one mouse can completely destroy stocks of root crops for the winter and other products.

Despite the fact that field mice are so prolific, some species are listed in the “Red”. Vinogradov's Lemmings are in critical condition, and the Alai Mole Vole is endangered. There are also vulnerable species and voles that are in a state close to threatened.

Dimensions: body - up to 120 mm, tail - 27 - 50 mm, usually no more than 40 mm. The color of the back is variable, but usually bright with a predominance of red, rusty and brown-red colors, often separated from the gray color of the sides by a kind of “mantle”. The tail is generally distinctly or faintly two-colored, and is densely covered with hair throughout, so that the skin is not visible through it. At the end, especially in winter, a kind of “tassel” is formed.

The skull is similar to that of the Bank Vole, but with a less juvenile appearance. The nasal bones are narrowed more weakly in the middle section and less roof-shaped in the anterior part. The posterior end of the nasal processes of the premaxillary bones does not extend beyond the level of the posterior ends of the nasal bones, and the latter forms an angle directed backwards. The auditory tympani are less swollen and the occipital height of the skull is less.

Biology

Lifestyle. The main habitat zones are taiga, mixed and deciduous forests. Found in forest-steppe and forest-tundra. It prefers cluttered and moist habitats and readily colonizes forested floodplains of water bodies, including bush thickets. Throughout Siberia it is found in human dwellings, where the number exceeds that in “wild” biotopes by more than 5 times. In the conditions of Yakutia, the only species of voles with permanent settlements in cities and towns. In this region, red-backed vole settlements are not associated with natural biotopes.

The activity of the species is round-the-clock and polyphasic. The average distance from the nest is up to 390 m, the greatest is up to 1 km. In winter, the species is active at - 40°C - 50°C and can travel up to 70 - 80 m in snow, and even more along paths.

Refuge use patterns and utilization are similar to those of the Bank Vole. In the eastern part of the range they live in rotten stumps, but they climb much worse than the bank vole.

Reproduction. Sexual maturity is observed at two months of age. The breeding period varies from 3 to 5.5 months depending on the climate of the habitat area. The number of litters is 2 - 3, for mature animals it is from 1 to 3, but not for all individuals. Spring breeding begins under the snow. The number of litters of adult females is 5 - 7, and that of mature females - 4 - 6 cubs. The indicator decreases with the altitude of the area above sea level and in the Arctic. The number experiences biennial and even five-year fluctuations. The drop is especially significant after snowy and frosty winters. IN populated areas Yakutia breeds all year round.

Nutrition. Animals are plant polyphagers. They are characterized by a distinct change in food seasonally. In spring - these are the green parts of plants, seeds - in the first half of summer. Mushrooms and berries - the second part of summer and autumn. In winter - lichens and mosses. Little animal food is consumed. Small reserves of seeds are found only in the northern regions of the range. In populated areas, except plant food, especially in winter time, eats fish and meat in barns.

Morphologically related species

In terms of morphology (appearance) it is close to the described pest ( Clethrionomys glareolus). The main differences: the length of the tail without end hairs is no more than 40 mm, the tail is covered with sparse hair through which the skin is visible; the hairs do not form a “brush”; The color of the top is dominated by dull tones of a reddish-brown hue, sometimes with a distinct rusty tint.

In addition, there is geographic variability, which is characterized by a complex combination of multidirectional geographic and biotopic variability with local, most likely, mutational variability. On the territory of the former Soviet Union About 20 subspecies are known.

Geographical distribution

The red-backed vole lives in the area from Kola Peninsula and the northern coast of Lake Ladoga to the Anadyr ridge, Kamchatka, the coast of Okhotsk and Japanese seas, Bering and Medny Islands, Karaginsky, Shumshu, Paramushir, Shantarsky and Sakhalin. The species is common in some areas of Karelia, in Leningrad region, isolated in the Slantsevsky district, to the western Ilmen region, upper reaches Volga, Northern Mordovia, North-Eastern Tataria, Isolated on Samara Luka. In addition, the range covers northern Scandinavia, northern Mongolia, Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula, Northern Japan, North America east to the coast of Hudson Bay.

Maliciousness

Red-backed vole- ecologically limited synanthrope. It damages garden plots and other agricultural crops. Carries many infectious diseases: Hemorrhagic fever, tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne rickettsiosis, salmonellosis, tularemia and others. In buildings, red-backed voles damage various products.

Pesticides

Chemical pesticides

Manual introduction into holes, other shelters, tubes, bait boxes:

Biological pesticides

Layout of ready-made baits in food enterprises and in everyday life:

Control measures: deratization measures

Sanitary and epidemiological well-being is due to the successful implementation of the entire complex of deratization measures, including organizational, preventive, exterminatory and sanitary educational measures to combat rodents.

Organizational events include a complex following measures:

• administrative;
• financial and economic;
• scientific and methodological;
• material.

Preventive actions are designed to eliminate favorable living conditions for rodents and exterminate them using the following measures:

• engineering and technical, including the use of various devices that automatically prevent rodents from accessing premises and communications;
• sanitary and hygienic, including maintaining cleanliness in the premises, basements, and areas of the facilities;
• agro- and forestry engineering, including measures for the cultivation of forests in recreational areas to the state of forest parks and maintaining these areas in a state free from weeds, fallen leaves, dead and drying trees; This same group of activities includes deep plowing of the soil in the fields;
• preventive deratization, including measures to prevent the restoration of the number of rodents using chemical and mechanical means.

The task of carrying out this group of activities lies with legal entities and individual entrepreneurs operating specific facilities and the surrounding territory.

These events are held legal entities And individual entrepreneurs with special training.

see also 11.10.8. Genus Forest voles - Clethrionomys

Red-backed vole - Clethrionomys rutilus

(Tables 57,63)

Body length 8-12 cm, tail 4-6 cm.

The top is bright, reddish or tan, the bottom is dark gray.

The tail is one color with a small tassel at the end. It lives in the north of the European part of Russia, throughout Siberia and the Far East, in forests, forest-tundra and forest-steppes. A common forest rodent in most of Siberia and the north of the Far East. Numerous in cedar and other coniferous forests, in places with dense windbreaks. Often lives in taiga huts and other buildings. Feeds mainly on seeds coniferous trees. It also eats lichens, berries, mushrooms, grass, mosses, and insects. In some places it makes large reserves of berries, stacking them in piles under stumps and logs.

Red-backed vole is brown, ash-gray underparts; The tail is dark above and light below. Border of rusty and gray colors very sharp, and on the muzzle the red color forms a clear triangle. Lives in the north of the European part of Russia, throughout Siberia and the Far East, in forests, especially with windbreaks, and shrub tundras, found on the Zhiguli Upland and Kuril Islands. The most common forest rodent of Transbaikalia and the south of the Far East. It is especially numerous in the mountain taiga, but is also common in river valleys and rocky areas. It feeds mainly on greenery, lichens, bark and shoots of bushes. It eats seeds less frequently than other forest voles.

Table 57. 291 - bank vole (291a, 291b, 291c - color options, 291d - layout of nests and supplies); 292 - red-backed vole (292a, 292b, 292c, 292d, 292e - color options); 293 - red-gray vole (293a, 293b, 293c - color options); 294 - Shikotan vole.

Table 63. 166 - red deer droppings; 167 - sika deer droppings; 171 - moose droppings; 265 - arrowhead leaves eaten by a water rat; 272 - housekeeper vole droppings; 291 - eat a bank vole (291a - aspen trunks and branches eaten by bank voles in winter, 291b - buttercup leaves eaten by bank voles, 291c - White mushroom, eaten by bank voles); 292 - red-backed vole droppings; 296 - litter of Norwegian lemming.

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"Red Vole" in books

"Red viburnum"