Moles are subterranean mammals known for the distinctive mounds they create in lawns and gardens. As insectivores, their diet primarily consists of soil invertebrates. Earthworms are a substantial and indispensable part of a mole’s diet. Their feeding habits are intricately linked to the availability of prey in their complex tunnel systems.
A Mole’s Primary Diet
Earthworms are the most significant component of a mole’s diet. These nutrient-rich worms are abundant in moist, fertile soil, leading moles to tunnel through areas like gardens and lawns. Moles have a high metabolism, necessitating a constant food supply to sustain their energy levels.
A single mole can consume an impressive amount of earthworms daily, typically eating between 60% to 100% of its own body weight. This can translate to around 50 grams of earthworms or up to 200 individual worms per day. Some species, like the star-nosed mole, exhibit extraordinary feeding speed, devouring ten bite-sized earthworm chunks in just over two seconds. Moles also store excess earthworms for later consumption, immobilizing them by biting off their heads before placing them in specialized storage chambers within their tunnel networks.
How Moles Find Their Food
Moles are adapted for hunting in their dark, underground environment. They locate prey through an extensive network of tunnels, which serve as living spaces and hunting grounds. Their powerful front limbs and large claws enable them to dig new tunnels at a remarkable rate, sometimes up to 18 feet per hour, or create up to 150 feet of new tunnels daily.
Their highly developed sense of touch and smell are crucial for detecting food. Moles use sensitive snouts to perceive vibrations and movements of earthworms and other invertebrates. The tip of a mole’s nose is equipped with specialized sensory structures called Eimer’s organs, densely packed mechanosensory receptors. These organs allow moles to make rapid sensory discriminations, exploring their surroundings and identifying prey by detecting minute surface features and textures. Moles also adjust tunneling depth based on soil moisture, digging shallower tunnels when worms are closer to the surface during wet conditions.
Other Foods Moles Consume
While earthworms are their primary food source, moles are insectivores whose diet includes a variety of other invertebrates encountered underground. Common additions include grubs, larvae of various insects like beetles, providing a valuable source of protein. Moles also consume slugs and snails encountered while burrowing.
Other invertebrates moles eat include ants, termites, various beetles, centipedes, millipedes, and spiders. Occasionally, they might prey on small amphibians or reptiles that venture into their tunnels. It is important to note that, contrary to a common misconception, moles do not typically eat plants or plant roots. Any damage to plant roots or garden beds is usually an indirect consequence of their tunneling activities as they search for invertebrate prey.