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 Vole Species - Approximately 70 vole species have been discovered which include: meadow Vole, Florida salt marsh vole, Arctic voles, southern red-back voles, bank vole, water vole, CA vole and red-backed vole.
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Red-backed voles can be found in North America, Europe and Asia, the rusty red fur on their back gives them their name. There are at least 10 subspecies which include southern red-back voles.
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Red-backed Vole
This species of vole live round the world in northern countries of North America, Europe and Asia. They typically inhabit spruce forests but can also be found in many other habitats, such as aspen stands, shrub lands, and arctic and alpine tundra.
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A red-backed vole feeding
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They can be distinguished from other vole species by the rusty-red backs that give them their name, this contrasts with tawny sides and brownish underparts. Even their short tails are reddish on top. Red-backed voles are small and slender, weighing about 20 grams as adults.They have small eyes and ears. Unlike other voles, the molar teeth are rooted in adults.
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The northern subspecies prefers alpine forests
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There are at least 10 subspecies of red-backed vole that have been identified which include western, grey southern and northern varieties. The northern red-backed vole does not hibernate, but remains active all winter, feeding on the seeds, nuts, and roots that it gathered during warmer weather.
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The most relevant links we could find, placed here free
 Government of Yukon
- Lots of information about Clethrionomys rutilus - the red-backed vole. www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca
Animal Diversity Web
- A detailed profile which includes details of the geographic range, behaviour and habitats of the northern red-backed vole. animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
About Landscaping
- Information about vole control, mouse traps and poison baits can be found here. landscaping.about.com
Once the snow has melted, the population of Myodes rutilus is made up entirely of those born the year before, but within about eight weeks, the first of the young are starting to breed. By the end of summer, all those born the year before have died. Its abundance makes the northern red-back vole popular prey for weasels and other small carnivores, as well as predatory birds like hawks and kites.
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Red-backed vole, subspecies Myodes rutilus
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The diet of the northern red-back vole includes nuts, seeds, fruits, berries, leaves and shoots, bark and roots of plants and trees, lichens, and underground fungi and insects. They are generally nocturnal animals and only come out sometimes during the day. This rodent has a habit of tunnelling through the sub-alpine forest floor and nesting in hollows of tree roots or short underground burrows by and turning grass into a ball-shaped nest.
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