the voles is in Asia, Europe and North America over 200 types spread as well. These small ones are for the human being, stumpfschnauzigen Nager of biggest meaning, to what we get to still speak.
Characteristics The middle-long one until short tail of the voles is only thinly hairy why its Ringelung is to be seen well. Of the front-feet, we either find 4 or 5 toes while the rear-feet always carry 5 toes. The ear of the voles usually is very small as adaptation to the digging way of life whatever finds the expression in the scientific name for the most important and species-richest type (Microtus = small-ear). The cheek-teeth of the voles are rootless and grow back under continuous wear of the crown-surfaces for life. Only with the muskrat and the Rötelmaus, we find bewurzelte cheek-teeth. The formation of the glaze-pleats on the cheek-teeth is the most important systematic characteristic to the differentiation of the individual types and types.
Mass-increase, types Many voles multiply extraordinarily strongly. Since they live on vegetable food preferably, they can prepare huge damages in the agriculture. Particularly, the field-mice of the type Microtus, that are given a home in North America and Eurasia with barely 50 types, are feared in this sense. The economically probably most significant type, the field-mouse (Microtus arvalis), tosses after a Tragzeit of 20 days up to 12 young, that become combination-ready, sexually mature in shortest period, that is female, already in the age of 13 days, and the next generation produces. Purely theoretically, one field-mouse-pair can generate over 2000 descendants during a vegetation-period! Such mass-increases occur intermittently and lead to the mouse-years feared by the farmer so.
Since mouse-weasels, owls and gripping-birds, hardly more suitable habitat beläßt, find our modern agriculture the classic enemies of the voles, foxes, these pests virtually heavenly circumstances in the mono-cultures and multiplies in immense size occasionally. Only through the then starting Individuendichte (crowd-factor) becomes, hormonal causes, restrictions of the child-bearing-ness of the females effectively, and radical break-ins in the Individuenzahl of the voles occur. After some time, the populations revive again.
Huge mass-increases occur with also another vole-group, the Lemmingen (type-group Lemmini), that became so popular because of its traveling-trains. The traveling-trains are caused by mass-increase: The animals are forced to look for new habitat. Since however, the spread of the Lemminge restricts itself mainly to inhospitable tundra and Taigagebiete, they hardly prepare damage despite its huge food-demand.
Very damaging, less through grub than through the undercut of dams and river-embankments, also the muskrat (Ondatra zibethica), who was introduced from North America to Europe as fur-animal in the previous century, becomes with us. The broken out and neglected muskrat is fought intensively, nevertheless extends in all-European, however.
The Rötelmäuse (type Clethrionomys), that are given a home in Europe and North-Asia, become less damaging. Our native Rötelmaus belongs to the most graceful Kleinnagern of our forests.
In means and Eastern Asia, the mountain-voles (type Alticola) live, who occur in heights between 900 and 5800 m. they lead a quite similar way of life like our European snow-mice there.
While most voles remain very small, the already mentioned muskrat and the Schermaus (Arvicola terrestris) clearly become bigger. The approximately rat-big Schermaus also "water-rat" named, the biggest established vole of the old world is. it is very frequent and extraordinarily wide with us, namely as far as to China, spreads.
The North American fir-mice (type Phenacomys) lead a tree-tied life-manner to even stronger extent than the Rötelmaus, is very uncommon what kind of voles. they position also its nests in trees.
Also our native small-vole (Pitymys subterraneus), that frequently occurs only here and there and populates gladly moist meadows, belongs to the type Pitymys, that is spread in North America, Europe and Asia Minor. it brings only few descendants per throw to the world with 2-3 boys. Because of their in the fur almost hidden, small eyes, it will call also Kleinäugige vole.
At dry squander-good biotopes, the reindeer-mice (type-group Gerbillini) are on tried. Some types the very mold-hands group also becomes very damaging there, where they force their way into the culture-country. Reindeer-mice the Art of Tatera brantsi show huge mass-increases, that occur every 8-10 years, in South Africa like Lemminge and field-mice as well. Then, they prepare immense damages in the grain-fields of the Transvaal.
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