Fox Squirrel - Food Habits

Food Habits

Food habits of eastern fox squirrels depend largely on geographic location. In general, eastern fox squirrel foods include mast, tree buds, insects, tubers, bulbs, roots, bird eggs, seeds of pines and spring-fruiting trees, and fungi. Agricultural crops such as corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, and fruit are also eaten. Mast eaten by eastern fox squirrels commonly includes turkey oak, southern red oak (Q. falcata), blackjack oak (Q. marilandica), bluejack oak (Q. incana), post oak (Q. stellata), and live oak (Q. virginiana).

In Illinois, eastern fox squirrels rely heavily on hickories from late August through September. Pecans, black walnuts (Juglans nigra), osage orange (Maclura pomifera) fruits, and corn are also important fall foods. In early spring, elm buds and seeds are the most important food. In May and June, mulberries (Morus spp.) are heavily useed. By early summer, corn in the milk stage becomes a primary food.

During the winter in Kansas, osage orange is a staple item supplemented with seeds of the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus) and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthus), corn, wheat, eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides var. deltoides) bark, ash seeds, and eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginianus) berries. In the spring, eastern fox squirrels feed primarily on buds of elm, maple, and oaks but also on newly sprouting leaves and insect larvae.

Eastern fox squirrels in Ohio prefer hickory nuts, acorns, corn, and black walnuts. The squirrels are absent where two or more of these mast trees are missing. Eastern fox squirrels also eat buckeyes, seeds and buds of maple and elm, hazelnuts (Corylus spp.), blackberries (Rubus spp.), and tree bark. In March, they feed mainly on buds and seeds of elm, maple, and willow. In Ohio, eastern fox squirrels have the following order of food preference: white oak (Quercus alba) acorns, black oak (Q. velutina) acorns, red oak (Q. rubra) acorns, walnuts, and corn.

In eastern Texas, eastern fox squirrels prefer the acorns of bluejack oak, southern red oak (Q. falcata), and overcup oak (Q. lyrata). The least preferred foods are acorns of swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii) and overcup oak. In California, eastern fox squirrels feed on English walnuts (J. regia), oranges, avocados, strawberries, and tomatoes. In midwinter, they feed on eucalyptus seeds.

In Michigan, eastern fox squirrels feed on a variety of foods throughout the year. Spring foods are mainly tree buds and flowers, insects, bird eggs, and seeds of red maple (Acer rubrum), silver maple (A. saccharinum), and elms. Summer foods include a variety of berries, plum and cherry pits, fruits of basswood (Tilia americana), fruits of box elder (Acer negundo), black oak acorns, hickory nuts, seeds of sugar (A. saccharum) and black maple (A. nigrum), grains, insects, and unripe corn. Fall foods consist mainly of acorns, hickory nuts, beechnuts, walnuts, butternuts (J. cinerea), and hazelnuts. Caches of acorns and hickory nuts are heavily used in winter.