Share

Harvest mouse

Harvest mouse ©Amy Lewis

Harvest mouse

Scientific name: Micromys minutus
The harvest mouse is tiny - an adult can weigh as little as a 2p piece! It prefers habitats with long grass, but you are most likely to spot its round, woven-grass nests.

Species information

Category

Statistics

Length: 5-7cm
Tail: 6cm
Weight: 4-6g
Average lifespan: 1.5 years

Conservation status

Protected from deliberate cruelty under the Wild Mammals Protection Act. Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.

When to see

January to December

About

The tiny harvest mouse lives in long tussocky grassland, reedbeds, hedgerows, farmland and around woodland edges. It is mainly vegetarian, eating seeds and fruits, but will also eat invertebrates. Harvest mice build a spherical nest of tightly woven grass, high-up in the tall grasses, in which the female will give birth to around six young.

How to identify

The harvest mouse has pale, ginger or yellow fur, and a white belly. Its tail is almost hairless and nearly as long as its body.

In our area

Suffolk, with its extensive lowland arable landscape and river valleys, has become a stronghold for the harvest mouse. Despite populations of the species declining by about 70% in other parts of the UK due to intensive farming, a recent Suffolk Wildlife Trust study revealed that the harvest mouse is still widespread in the county.

A quick spot check

Suffolk is a stronghold for the harvest mouse and by adopting a few simple management techniques you can help keep it that way.

• Leave areas of rough grass and cut them on a 3-5 year rotation so that there is always suitable habitat for breeding, feeding and overwintering

• If you own any land close to ponds, ditches, rivers, dykes or any other wet areas leave the surrounding vegetation to grow taller to provide nesting places

• Try to provide corridors of long or tussocky grass to link together suitable habitats

• If you are planting trees, allow the grass to become long to provide a new habitat as the trees grow

• Plant wild bird or cover crops with millet as part of the mix, it is ideal for harvest mice to nest and feed in

Distribution

Found in England, south of Yorkshire.

Habitats

Did you know?

The harvest mouse is the only British mammal to have a prehensile tail: it can use it like a fifth limb, holding on to grass stems with it.