BREEDING No.
of young: 3 to 8 per litter.
Up to 3 litters a year, more in captivity Mating season: May - October (in the Wild) Sexual maturity: 35 days Gestation: 17 - 19 days LIFESTYLE
Behaviour: In the wild solitary, mated females drive
away males. Diet: Mainly seeds and insects, also berries and fruit.
Lifespan: Up to 18 months in the wild, but usually
only 6. Distribution: In Britain the harvest mouse is more
abundant in the south and south-east, although recently it has been recorded
Cheshire, Yorkshire, Wales and even Scotland. RELATED SPECIES The harvest mouse
is the only species in the genus Micromys, But they belong to the same family as
other mice, Muridea CONSERVATION Although not endangered, numbers have been greatly reduced
with the advent of modern agricultural methods, such as combine harvesting,
pesticide spraying and stubbleburning. SUITABLE HABITAT
Any areas
of tall dense vegetation are suitable for harvest mice: grassland, reedbeds,
rushes, sedges and cereal crops (with the exception of barley and rye). Other
suitable habitats include farmland, scrubland, ditches, grassy hedgerows
especially with set-a-side margins, roadside verges, brambles, young plantations,
bogs, marshes and even salt marshes.
More nocturnal in summer and more diurnal in the winter.
Harvest mice do not hibernate.
In captivity they may live up to 5 years.
Widespread through out Europe
and Asia, from Spain to China, Siberia, Japan and Korea.
Garden
Bird Survey Results for 2000/2001 | Sandnats
publication, 'Birds of the Sandwell Valley'.
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