Harvest Mouse
| In collaboration with: Berkshire Mammal Group and Oxfordshire Mammal Group
| Acknowledgements: Amanda Lloyd, John Dobson, Derek Crawley and Ruth Brandt
| Published: 2015
| Tasks: Illustration and Information Design
The harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) is the smallest British rodent. It's also the only British animal with a truly prehensile tail, being almost the same length as the head and body. They are extremely active climbers. When climbing down, they use their tail as a brake; when climbing upwards, the tail is used for balance. Female harvest mice are the only British mammal to build breeding nests (about 10cm in diameter) of woven grass well above the ground. They tend to be found at least 30cm above ground in dense vegetation such as grasses, rushes, brambles, cereals, etc. These nests are mainly made from grass leaves, but they may include leaves from other plants. Sometimes other materials are incorporated into the nest wall, such as feathers, heads of reeds and pieces of string. Also, there's no definite entrance to the nest. Building a breeding nest is a complex process. Building time depends on weather conditions: From three to four days in good weather, and up to seven days in rainy conditions.
- Selected | Il·lustraciència, International Award on Scientific Illustration, 2015.
'Building a Breeding Nest' illustration was one of the 40 works selected by Il·lustraciència 2015 jury. Il·lustraciència, International Award on Scientific Illustration, sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).
Exhibitions
- Río Creative Art | Madrid (Spain), 2017
- Biblioteca Universitaria, Universidad de Murcia | Murcia (Spain), 2016
- The Pushkin House Library | (Russia), 2016
- Jardí Botànic | Valencia (Spain), 2016
- Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT) | Madrid (Spain), 2016
- Biblioteca Sagrada Familia | Barcelona (Spain), 2016
- Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT) | A Coruña (Spain), 2015
