Tired of flowers? Bronx Zoo offers unique - if somewhat icky - way to say 'I love you'


Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and for those who find the ritual of chocolates, flowers and dinner monotonous, the Bronx Zoo has a solution.

After all, nothing can say "I love you" in quite the same way as giving your loved one's name to one of the zoo's Madagascar hissing cockroaches.

"As they say, roaches make the heart beat faster," the zoo said in an advertisement for the service.

For $10, the Bronx Zoo will let you name a cockroach for your sweetheart – or maybe your ex, if you think that's more appropriate.

The price includes a digital certificate proclaiming the Valentines cockroach's name. For an additional $15, the zoo will send a printed certificate and a box of sweets from the Nunu Chocolate company.

“Your donation will also help us protect these misunderstood love bugs, along with a lot of other animals, both big and small,” the zoo said.

The Madagascar hissing cockroach is the largest known species of cockroach. They get up to two or three inches long.