White-footed Deermouse

The white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) is a rodent native to North America from southern Canada to the Southwestern United States and Mexico. It is a species of the genus Peromyscus, a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice". In the Maritimes, its only location is a disjunct population in southern Nova Scotia. It is also erroneously known as the woodmouse, a name which instead describes the unrelated Apodemus sylvaticus, particularly in Texas. == Description == Adults are 90–100 mm (3.5–3.9 in) in length, not counting the tail, which can add another 63–97 mm (2.5–3.8 in). A young adult weighs 20–30 g (0.7–1.1 oz). While their maximum lifespan is 96 months, the mean life expectancy for the species is 45.5 months for females and 47.5 for males. In northern climates, the average life expectancy is 12–24 months. The species is similar to the eastern deer mouse (P. maniculatus). == Behavior and diet == White-footed mice are omnivorous, and eat seeds and insects. They are particularly voracious predators of the pupal stage of the invasive gypsy moth (also termed the spongy moth). They are timid and generally avoid humans, but they occasionally take up residence in ground-floor walls of…