meadow vole

Meadow vole is the largest vole found in Minnesota and the most widely distributed mole in North America.

It weighs between 1 and 2½ ounces. The length of the head and body together is 3½″ to 5″. The total length, including the tail, is 5″ to 7¾″. The body is 2 to 3 times as long as the tail.

The ears are small, inconspicuous, and hidden by the fur.

The coat (pelage) is long and soft. It is dark brown on the back, a little lighter on the sides, and silvery on the belly. It is darker on young individuals, lighter on older individuals.

The tail is 15 ⁄16″ to 2½″ long and bicolored. It is 2 to 3 times longer than the hind foot.

Total Length: 5″ to 7¾″

Head and body: 3½″ to 5″

Tail: 15 ⁄16″ to 2½″

Prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) pelage has a grizzled appearance. The belly is yellowish. The tail is shorter, 1″ to 1¾″long. Where the ranges overlap prairie vole will be in drier areas.

Meadows, fields, grassy marshes, grassy woodlands. Moist places.

Adults are active all times of day.

Less than one year

Breeding takes place between April and December. Two to four litters are produced each year. There are usually 4 to 6 offspring per litter though there may be as few as 1 or as many as 11. Gestation lasts 20 to 23 days. Due to high nestling and juvenile mortality, an average of only 2.6 offspring are successfully weaned. The offspring reach sexual maturity at 5 to 6 weeks. Adults usually live less than one year but may live up to two years.

Diet consists mostly of grasses, sedges, and herbs, but also includes seeds, grains, and when available, tubers, bulbs, and fruits. In the winter they sometimes eat the bark and roots of woody shrubs and trees.

Sources

4, 7, 24, 29, 30, 76.

Very common

Tribe
The genus Microtus was formerly included with Arvicola in the broadly defined tribe Arvicolini based on morphological similarity. Recent molecular genetic analysis showed that the two genera are not “sister taxa.” In 2006, Microtus was moved to the new tribe Microtini that now contains seven other genera, all with rootless, ever growing molars and crown cement.

Species
A recent DNA analysis (Jackson and Cook, 2020) analyzed the mitochondrial DNA of all 28 subspecies of Microtus pennsylvanicus. The authors proposed separating Microtus pennsylvanicus into four distinct species. Under this arrangement, Microtus drummondii is the most widespread species. It subsumes fifteen former subspecies, and it is the only species occurring in Minnesota. It has been placed in the subgenus Pitymys and been given the common name western meadow vole.

Very few sources have adopted the revision. These include iNaturalist and Mammal Diversity Database. Among the sources that have not adopted the revision are Catalog of Life, GBIF, ITIS, Mammal Species of the World, and NatureServe.

animal tracks

I believe these are Western Meadow vole tracks.

Microtus pennsylvanicus (Meadow Vole)
Allen Chartier

Meadow Vole (Cricetidae: Microtus pennsylvanicus)
Carl Barrentine

Meadow vole at the "Good" field, Bryn Athyn College campus
Eugene Potapov

Meadow vole running in a panic (HD)
Bart B. Van Bockstaele

Jack Hubley's Mightiest Mammal -- The Meadow Vole
wgaltv

Val McGruder
2/20/2025

Location: Minnetonka, Minnesota

I believe these are Western Meadow vole tracks.

Location: St. Louis County, Minnesota

So many trapped in my garage, it feels like an infestation.