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Lemmings and voles have short tails and legs, small ears, and beady eyes. These little mice eat vegetation, especially grasses. You may never see them, but you might happen upon their trails. These tiny creatures spend the winter on the ground surface in the layer of vegetation compressed by the snow. With adequate snow for insulation, they live in 32 degree F temperature. Without the cushion of deep snow, they may perish.

In spring, after the snow melts, their trails resemble narrow tunnels along the surface where mice have eaten through grain or grass stubble. You may also see little round grass nests, evidence that voles were active just below the snow blanket.

The southern bog lemming of our evergreen forest region and the northern bog lemming, found in the northwest, live in damp, boggy places. The red-backed vole, of wet forested areas in much of our state, will climb trees, unlike any other vole. The heather vole, typically a Canadian species, has recently been recorded in northern St. Louis County.

The meadow vole is the most widespread and is common all over Minnesota. The rock vole, which has a yellow nose, is found only in the far northeast, and the woodland vole only in the far southeast, where it spends most of its time underneath leaf litter. The prairie vole is found in rather dry situations in the southern half of the state.

Lemmings and voles seldom weigh more than one to one and one-half ounces. All nest in the ground, or under rocks or logs. These tiny little creatures may seem insignificant in nature's scheme of things, but are the key to survival of many wild predators including weasel, foxes, and birds-of-prey.

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