Insects in the diet of the hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius): a pilot study using DNA barcoding

Abstract

The common dormouse is primarily herbivorous, specialising in high quality food. Insects have also been recorded in the diet, identified from their fragmented remains in faeces. We investigated the use of ‘DNA barcoding’ using mitochondrial DNA as an alternative. Samples were collected from seven sites in England. Half of the 26 samples contained insect DNA, from four species of Lepidoptera and one Dipteran. We conclude that this is a practical approach to investigating dormouse predation on insects and discuss its limitations.