KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Valentine's Day is usually filled with romantic gestures, flowers and stuffed animals. But for people spurned by former partners, Valentine's Day can also include cockroaches.
Zoo Knoxville is giving people a chance to name a Madagascar hissing cockroach after their former partners for $10. The fundraiser is called "Hiss and Tell," and people will be able to submit names until 12 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 10. All submissions will be featured on a poster inside of the Zoo's Wee Play building from Feb. 11 through Feb. 14.
Only first names will be displayed on the poster.
Anyone who submits a name will also receive a digital certificate to either keep as a memento or share with others.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches can grow up to three inches long and an inch wide, according to the Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky. It does not have wings and usually lives on the forest floor, living in rotten logs and eating fallen fruit.
Female cockroaches are also one of the few insects that give birth to live young. Males have large horns behind their heads as well, with hairy antennae. The university also said males can act more aggressively and tend to ram into each other with their horns while hissing at each other.
Hissing is also a part of the cockroach's courtship rituals and plays an important role in their colony hierarchies. They also usually hiss when they are disturbed.
Anyone who wants to name a Madagascar hissing cockroach after their former partner can donate to Zoo Knoxville online.