Why do birds make nests?

Mindy Miller, age 10, Pacific

Birds build nests to shelter and raise their young. Raccoons, weasels, cats, snakes and other birds and animals prey on eggs and young birds. To keep their young safe, adult birds try to camouflage or hide their nests. Some put them in hard-to-reach places. Others build two or three nests to confuse predators. Not all birds' nests are alike. Some are simple structures made of a few twigs, while others are more elaborately pieced or woven together. Some nests are open at the top, and others look like domes. They can be flimsy or solid. Some are in holes in trees, while others are on the ground. Twigs, leaves, hair, mud, paper and grass are just a few building materials. There are probably about as many types of bird nests as there are types of houses for people!

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How many types of lizards are there in Missouri?

Alyssa Hodgson, age 10

There are 13 species of lizards in Missouri, and they all are harmless to people. Some of them have interesting names, such as the Texas horned lizard, racerunner and Western slender glass lizard, which is sometimes called a "glass snake" because it is long, skinny and has no legs. Unlike snakes, however, glass lizards have eyelids and ear openings.

Lizards are closely related to snakes. Like snakes, they are ecdothermic, or cold-blooded. They shed their skin like snakes do, and they flick their tongues to pick up odors around them. Lizards eat a variety of insects, such as grasshoppers, ants, crickets and termites. A few lizards eat other lizards!

Most lizards in Missouri have the ability to "lose" all or part of their tail when a predator grabs hold of them. The lizard dashes to safety, and the predator is left holding nothing but a wiggling tail. A "new" one eventually grows back, but it never looks quite as colorful or complete as the original. To learn more about lizards, write for a copy of "The Lizards of Missouri," Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.

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I have recently been seeing assassin bugs everywhere at my grandma's new cabin in Caulfield. How come?

Douglas K. Fine, age 11 1/2, West Plains

Assassin bugs live around the world and come with a variety of shapes, colors and features. In the U.S. and Canada, there are 106 different species of assassin bugs. You probably saw a bunch near your grandma's house because females lay large numbers of eggs at once and, therefore, they hatch in big groups. The young burst forth, using specially adapted, sharp spines to poke through the eggs.

Assassin bugs get their name because of the way they attack and sharply stab their victims. They mainly eat other insects, though some species are referred to as "bloodsuckers" because they feed on the blood of animals, such as rodents and opossums, and some bite people. Most are shades of brown, but some are colorful and blend in with plants they rest upon.