Is your ex a pest? The Bronx Zoo can help

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Each Valentine’s Day, romantics old and young are tasked with finding a perfect way to say “I love you.” The standard flowers and chocolate are safe, but do not exactly radiate originality. For those looking to give a gift unlike any other, the Bronx Zoo is there to help.

This February marks the fourth year of the zoo’s Name a Roach program. Orchestrated by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the organization that operates the Bronx Zoo, the undertaking encourages valentines to name a cockroach after their significant other for the price of $10. Those of us without valentines this year are also welcome to participate in the program and name a cockroach after a dreaded ex. Talk about closure.  

The zoo offered a new option this year that gifted roach-themed treats by Nunu Chocolate for the price of $25. A colorful certificate is also provided via email to inform that special someone or that regrettable old flame how they have been immortalized. 

The Bronx Zoo, located at 2300 Southern Blvd., is home to more than 10,000 cockroaches. The specimens in this year’s naming program are Madagascar hissing cockroaches, the largest roach species on the planet. The critters get some prominent play in the zoo’s popular “Madagascar!” exhibit, which showcases the indigenous wildlife of the African island nation such as Nile crocodiles and several species of lemur.

Despite the perception most New Yorkers have, 99 percent of cockroach species are not classified as pests and often avoid human spaces, according to National Geographic. Largely nocturnal, Madagascar hissing cockroaches are herbivores that tend to dwell on forest floors. A small colony could reduce a carrot to crumbs in a single day. The average life expectancy of these insects is around 2 to 5 years in the wild. Those especially wary of bugs can take some comfort knowing that these roaches are completely flightless, unlike some of their more fearsome cousins. 

The hissing referred to in the roaches’ name is a sound that they emit in battle. Roaches who come out victorious in a face-off release louder pitches in order to indicate hierarchy, a trend that is highly unique among insects.

Sometimes the roaches hiss as part of their mating ritual, making them especially apt to be the face of Valentine’s Day at the zoo.  

Donations go toward WCS’ conservation efforts to protect wildlife and preserve natural habitats around the planet. The organization operates four zoos and one aquarium in New York City and oversees conservation work in almost 60 countries around the globe.

Stop by the ongoing “Madagascar!” exhibit any time to catch the cockroaches in action. And keep in mind the sound of hissing may just mean that love is in the air.

Will Speros, Bronx Zoo, Name a Roach program, cockroach, Valentine’s Day

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