What do meadow voles eat?

Answer 1

Meadow voles eat most available species of grasses, sedges, and forbs including many agricultural plant species.[15][6] In summer and fall grasses are cut into match-length sections to reach the succulent portions of the leaves and to reach seedheads. Leaves, flowers, and fruits of forbs are also typical components of the summer diet. Fungi, primarily endogones (Endogone spp.), have been reported in meadow vole diets. Meadow voles occasionally consume insects and snails. Meadow voles occasionally scavenge on animal remains, and cannibalism is frequent in periods of high population density. Meadow voles may damage woody vegetation by girdling when population density is high.[6]

In winter meadow voles consume green basal portions of grass plants, often hidden under snow. Other winter diet components include seeds, roots, and bulbs. Meadow voles occasionally strip the bark from woody plants. Seeds and tubers are stored in nests and burrows.[14][15] Evidence of coprophagy is sparse but it is thought to occur.[15]

In an old-field community in Quebec, plants preferred by meadow voles included quackgrass (Elytrigia repens), sedges, fescues (Festuca spp.), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), timothy (Phleum pratense), bluegrasses (Poa spp.), and bird vetch (Vicia cracca).[40]

Meadow Voles also like to eat wheat. They consume up to 60% of their body weight by eating.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow_Vole#Food_Habits

Answer 2

Voles are scavengers, they will eat anything they think they can. They occasionally dig through homes at the scent of food and stay there for the shelter inside the walls. A vole's diet is quite varied as it feasts on whatever it finds. Voles are for the most part vegetarian and leave small piles of vegetation at feeding sites. A Voles' diet includes many things, including grasses, herbaceous plants, bulbs, seeds, flowers, leaves, roots of shrubs and small trees, bark, tubers, bulbs, and sometimes insects. Some of the Meadow Voles' favourites, besides grasses, are clover and plantain. Voles can eat their weight daily, and do not hibernate, and though they sometimes store food such as seeds and other plant matter in underground chambers, they eat constantly. Voles concentrate on green vegetation in the summer, and switch to mostly grains and seeds in fall. They also eat bark and roots of trees, usually in fall or winter and this damage of trees categorises them as a pest. Voles can cause extensive damage to forest, orchards and ornamental plants by girdling trees and shrubs. They prefer the bark of young trees but will attack any tree, regardless of age, when food is scarce. Most damage occurs in the winter when voles move through their grass runways under the protection of snow. The greatest damage seems to coincide with years of heavy snowfall. Vole damage to trees and shrubs is characterized by girdling and patches of irregular patterns of gnaw marks about 1/16 to 1/8-inch wide. Gnawed stems may have a pointed tip. Vole damage should not be confused with damage by rabbits, which includes stems clipped at a smooth 45-degree angle and wider gnaw marks. Stems browsed by deer usually have a rough jagged edge. Voles can also cause damage by feeding on a wide range of garden plants including carrots, beets, turnips, sweet potatoes, cabbages, lettuce, celery, spinach, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower. Landscape plantings such as lilies and dichondra may be eaten by voles.

Answer 3

Meadow voles primarily eat plants such as grasses, sedges, and seeds. They may also consume insects and fungi when plant food is scarce.

Answer 4

a meadow vole is a herbivore that lives mostly in tall grass

Answer 5

Large mammals such as the cow and black bear.

Answer 6

The Meadow Vole is very fast with strong leg muscle