Voles are small, common rodents found across various habitats. Many people wonder if these small mammals consume worms as part of their diet. This article will clarify the typical feeding habits of voles and differentiate them from other subterranean creatures.
Understanding the Vole Diet
Voles are primarily herbivorous, meaning their diet consists mainly of plant matter. They generally do not eat worms. Their preferred food sources include grasses, roots, seeds, bulbs, and tubers. During colder months, voles frequently gnaw on the bark of trees and shrubs, especially near the ground.
While their diet is overwhelmingly vegetarian, voles may occasionally consume small insects or snails. They are known to damage a variety of garden plants, including vegetables and fruit trees, by chewing on roots and stems. Voles often create surface runways through vegetation as they forage for these plant-based foods. This plant-focused diet is a consistent characteristic across different vole species.
Why Voles Are Herbivores
The anatomy and physiology of voles are specifically adapted for processing plant material. Like other rodents, voles possess continuously growing incisors at the front of their mouths. These sharp, chisel-like teeth are ideal for gnawing through tough plant fibers such as bark and roots.
Their molars, located further back in the mouth, are broad and flat with rough surfaces. These specialized teeth efficiently grind plant material into smaller, more digestible particles. The digestive system of voles is also optimized for breaking down cellulose, a complex carbohydrate found in plant cell walls. This digestive efficiency allows them to extract nutrients from their fibrous, plant-based diet.
Voles and Other Subterranean Animals
Voles are often confused with other subterranean animals like moles and shrews, which have different dietary habits. Moles are insectivores and primarily consume earthworms, grubs, and other soil-dwelling insects. They have distinct physical features, including large, paddle-shaped front feet adapted for digging, and their eyes and ears are often inconspicuous. Moles create raised ridges and volcano-shaped mounds of soil as they tunnel.
Shrews, on the other hand, are also insectivores, feeding mainly on insects, spiders, and worms. They are small mammals with pointed snouts but lack the enlarged front feet seen in moles. Unlike voles that forage for plants and moles that hunt insects underground, shrews have a very high metabolism and must eat almost constantly to sustain themselves.