Striped field mouse
Apodemus agrarius
bird-scope · Eastern Administrative District
Key facts in one look
- Size
- Body 7.5–12 cm, 16–38 g
- Diet
- Seeds, fruit, green plants, insects
- Status in Georgia
- Native
- Habitat
- Forest edges, fields, gardens, marshes
- Family
- Muridae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) is easy to recognise: a black stripe runs down the middle of its back. It is a small rodent of forest edges, fields, gardens and marshes. In Georgia it has been found in Gagra, Bichvinta, Gudauta, Sokhumi and Mukhuri. In some years it breeds in huge numbers and damages grain crops. Like other rodents it carries diseases, so do not touch it with bare hands.
Identification
Striped field mouse: how to identify it
A small mouse, yellowish or reddish brown, with a sharp black stripe along the middle of the back. The ears and eyes are relatively small. The belly is greyish white. This stripe is what sets it apart from the house mouse.
The body is 7.5–12 cm long, the tail 6.5–11.5 cm, and it weighs 16–38 g. The tail is about as long as the body, or slightly shorter or longer, dark above and pale below. Females have four pairs of teats.
The back ranges from yellowish to reddish brown, with a more or less distinct black stripe down the middle. The belly is greyish white. In some animals the stripe is faint, so the back must show clearly in a photo.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It favours the edges of forests and woodland strips. It lives in fields, gardens, reedbeds and marshes, and in autumn it sometimes moves into barns and buildings. It picks dense scrub and bramble with few or no trees above. In Georgia it has been found in Gagra, Gantiadi, Bichvinta, Gudauta, Likhni, Sokhumi, Tsebelda, Akhali Kindghi and Mukhuri.
It eats seeds, buds, fruit and berries, in proportions that change with the season. It adds insects, worms and molluscs to its diet. It also eats the green parts and roots of plants. It stores food in its burrow.
It lives on the ground and climbs less than other wood mice. In summer it is active mostly at night or at dusk, and in winter by day. It does not hibernate. It digs a simple burrow 30–40 cm deep, with three or four entrances and a nest lined with dry plants. It swims well. It breeds in spring and summer. A litter has 1–10 young, about 5–6 on average, and a female raises three to five litters a year. In a good year numbers grow very fast and sometimes explode.
Globally, the striped field mouse is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016). In Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. It has a huge range and adapts well to landscapes changed by people, fields and gardens included. Its numbers swing irregularly and rise sharply in some years.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes, in western Georgia. It has been found in Gagra, Bichvinta, Gudauta, Sokhumi and Tsebelda, and also in Mukhuri and Akhali Kindghi. It favours forest edges, fields, gardens and marshes, in dense scrub and bramble.
A black stripe runs down the middle of its back. The back is yellowish or reddish brown, the belly greyish white, and the ears and eyes are relatively small. The house mouse is darker and has no stripe. To identify one, take a photo and leave the animal alone.
It does not attack, but it can carry diseases. The species is linked to the agents of tick-borne encephalitis, tularaemia and rickettsial diseases. A rodent can pass on disease through bites, scratches, urine, droppings or fleas. So do not touch a live or dead mouse with bare hands.
No, it is not threatened. Globally it is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016), and in Georgia the 2021 national assessment also rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. In outbreak years it is rather a pest of fields.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
