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The name vole is short for the archaic word volemouse, which may come from Norwegian ''vollmus'', from the Old Norse ''völlr'', field and Old Norse ''mūs'', mouse.

The name '''vole''' is short for the archaic word volemouse, which may come from Norwegian ''vollmus'', from the Old Norse ''völlr'', field and Old Norse ''mūs'', mouse.

Voles are rodents, in the same family (''Crecetidae'') as [[lemming]]s, and like lemmings they sometimes have population explosions. The field vole, ''Arvicola agrestis'', was so plentiful in [[Scotland]], causing so much damage in 1890-1 that the Government appointed a Committee to examine the question. The committee wondered whether the destruction of predators by gamekeepers was responsible, but in true [[Darwin]]ian fashion, the Scottish outbreak was dealt with by a rapid natural increase in the population of [[birds of prey]]. <ref>http://www.electricscotland.com/books/wildlife6.htm </ref>

Voles are rodents, in the same family (''Crecetidae'') as [[lemming]]s, and like lemmings they sometimes have population explosions. The field vole, ''Arvicola agrestis'', was so plentiful in [[Scotland]], causing so much damage in 1890-1 that the Government appointed a Committee to examine the question. The committee wondered whether the destruction of predators by gamekeepers was responsible, but in true [[Darwin]]ian fashion, the Scottish outbreak was dealt with by a rapid natural increase in the population of [[birds of prey]]. <ref>http://www.electricscotland.com/books/wildlife6.htm </ref> A more recent vole explosion permitted [[snowy owl]]s to colonise and breed in the [[Shetland]] Islands for a number of years.

Voles range in color from gray to brown and in size from three to nine inches long. They have rounded bodies and blunt snouts, small ears and short tails without much hair. Their main food is grasses, but they also eat bark, leaves and insects. There are about 70 species, 40 of which (found in [[North America]], [[Eurasia]] and [[North Africa]]) are in the genus ''Microtus'', which usually make shallow burrows or runways under vegetation. Confusingly, these are called [[field mice]] in North America (in the rest of the world, field mice are a completely different animal). The five species in the genus ''Clethrionomys'' nest in shrubs, and those in the North American genus ''Phenacomys'' nest in trees and are called tree mice. The ''Lagarus'' species found in the western US is called the sagebrush vole, while that found in [[Russia]] and [[Mongolia]] is misleadingly called the steppe lemming. Voles also are known to strip the bark in a circle around fruit tree trunks, which often kills the tree. They tend not to like human houses, though they sometimes infest barns. <ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/268.shtm</ref> <ref>http://www.terminix.com </ref> <ref>http://www.the-aps.org/press/conference/steamboat/1.htm</ref>

Voles range in color from gray to brown and in size from three to nine inches long. They have rounded bodies and blunt snouts, small ears and short tails without much hair. Their main food is grasses, but they also eat bark, leaves and insects. There are about 70 species, 40 of which (found in [[North America]], [[Eurasia]] and [[North Africa]]) are in the genus ''Microtus'', which usually make shallow burrows or runways under vegetation. Confusingly, these are called [[field mice]] in North America (in the rest of the world, field mice are a completely different animal). The five species in the genus ''Clethrionomys'' nest in shrubs, and those in the North American genus ''Phenacomys'' nest in trees and are called tree mice. The ''Lagarus'' species found in the western US is called the sagebrush vole, while that found in [[Russia]] and [[Mongolia]] is misleadingly called the steppe lemming. Voles also are known to strip the bark in a circle around fruit tree trunks, which often kills the tree. They tend not to like human houses, though they sometimes infest barns. <ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/268.shtm</ref> <ref>http://www.terminix.com </ref> <ref>http://www.the-aps.org/press/conference/steamboat/1.htm</ref>

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