You can name a cockroach after your lover, at the Bronx Zoo

Through the Bronx Zoo's Name-a-Roach programme, your sweetheart could have a namesake among one of its 50,000 Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Photo: Bronx Zoo/dpa

If you are looking for a Valentine's Day gift that will send shivers down your lover's spine, a New York zoo has the answer: name a giant cockroach after them.

Through the Bronx Zoo's Name-a-Roach programme, your sweetheart could have a namesake among one of its 50,000 Madagascar hissing cockroaches.

Of course you can also choose to name the critter after your ex.

Madagascar hissing cockroaches are the world's largest roach species at around 10cm long. The hissing sound they emit can be a defence mechanism or part of a mating ritual.

You too can "seal it with a hiss," the zoo says.

Spend US$15 (RM62) and your loved one (or unloved one) will receive a certificate with the name you selected for the insect.

If you want to really spoil your crush, why not splash out US$50 (RM206) to also include a pair of roach-printed socks and an "Eau De Roach" scented candle?

If you want to get your heart racing even more, the zoo offers a special Valentine's Day event called "Roach Romance", where couples can learn about "the laws of attraction in the wild" while sipping wine and eating chocolate.

The money goes towards helping the Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society with their mission to save wildlife in New York and around the globe.

Since the Name-a-Roach programme launched in 2011, thousands of hissing roaches have been named after lovers, former lovers, mothers-in-law and politicians, according to the Bronx Zoo. – dpa