1 Introduction
The Chinese mole shrew (Anourosorex squamipes Milne-Edwards, 1872) is a small insectivore mammal (He et al. 2016; Hoffmann 1987; Motokawa. et al. 2003), distributed in southwestern China and adjacent areas (He et al. 2016; Motokawa and Lin 2002; Motokawa. et al. 2003; Wilson et al. 2018). Like other house shrews (Khanam et al. 2016),A. squamipes is regarded as a pest in the agricultural ecosystem (Peng et al. 2018; Zong et al. 2017), causing both direct and indirect effects (Mdangi et al. 2013). As is widely known, synanthropic species association with human habitats widely impact agriculture and human health through damage to crops and transmission of pathogens (Khanam et al. 2016; Palis et al. 2007). The Chinese mole shrew affects crops and human health in China in a multitude of ways (Peng et al. 2018; Yang et al. 2013). For example, this shrew species consumes and contaminates stored grains and crops (Peng et al. 2018). In addition, it is considered to be a potential source of various types of viruses and pathogens (Gu et al. 2016; Song et al. 2007). A. squamipes caused severe damages to crops resulting from increased population sizes in Southwest China, especially in Sichuan Basin (Yang et al. 2013; Zong et al. 2017). Moreover, due to their peculiar food and foraging habits, existing rodent control practices are not suitable for controlling the number of these shrews, resulting in grain insecurity and 
reduced villager livelihoods.
Diet analysis are important for understanding how animal populations respond to resource distribution and variety as well as how to manage them (Gordon et al. 2019). Dietary information has been used in addition to pure feeding ecology in a variety of applied studies (Gong et al. 2017). Accurate identification of foods is a prerequisite to fully understanding the feeding ecology of a species and effectively controlling pest numbers (Heroldova et al. 2008). Better understanding of the feeding habits 
of house shrews can help to evaluate how growing populations of A. squamipes affect human and agricultural systems even during resource-poor seasons and develop more effective pests management strategies, including targeted baits
and lures (Khanam et al. 2016; Lathiya et al. 2008). 
However, very few studies have described the composition and seasonal variations in the Chinese mole shrew diet with higher taxonomic resolution.
For natural populations, it is difficult to accurately and efficiently assess wildlife diets, because of their elusive predatory behaviors and versatile feeding habits (Gong et al. 2017; Ozaki et al. 2018). Identifying food items with the highest taxonomic resolution is nearly impossible with traditional microhistological analysis of gut contents and stable isotope analysis (Jeunen et al. 2019; Murray et al. 2016; Rytkonen et al. 2019). A major limitation of the classical observational methods is that foods items are often digested to a greater extent, making identification of their remains taxonomically challenging (Berry et al. 2017; Bessey et al. 2019). Especially in the cases of insectivorous predators, whose prey is variable, small in size, and easily disintegrated in the gut, direct identification is difficult since their chyme contains a 
mixture of degraded prey fragments (Clare et al. 2014; Rytkonen et al. 2019). Besides, the stable isotope approach is unable to distinguish prey at the species level (Bohmann et al. 2018). Therefore, a broad-spectrum technique with higher taxonomic resolution is necessary because shrew species have highly diverse and flexible diets that include insects, annelids, and plants (Churchfield et al. 2012; Churchfield et al. 2010; Haberl 2002).
Here, DNA metabarcoding enabled us to identify food DNA (including highly degraded DNA) in gut contents or fecal samples with higher taxonomic resolution (Kartzinel and Pringle 2015; Pompanon et al. 2012). To date, among shrew species, only the diets of Asian musk shrew (Suncus murinus ) have been examined through DNA metabarcoding methods (Brown et al. 2014; Khanam et al. 2016). Most previous studies (Churchfield et al. 2012; Churchfield et al. 2010; De Pascual and De Ascencao 2000; Haberl 2002; McCay and Storm 1997) that assessed diets in shrew species are based on microhistological identification of insect fragments in stomach contents or fecal pellets, resulting in large proportions of poorly resolved plant taxa and dietary information mainly at higher taxonomic levels. Little is known about the invertebrate prey species and plants (especially at the species-level) consumed by Chinese mole shrew, which prevents understanding of their feeding ecology and thus impedes effective pest control.
In this study, we attempted to characterize the Chinese mole shrew diet across the four seasons by DNA metabarcoding of stomach samples. We compared dietary richness and composition across seasons to evaluate the impacts of this pest on crops and enhance our understanding of dietary breadth and seasonal food preferences in A. squamipes . Thus, this study may have implications for food niche and management of Chinese mole shrew as well as help to develop appropriate pest control strategies.