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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Yes—you can give someone a cockroach-naming donation for Valentine’s Day. The name is usually symbolic, not a transfer of ownership or a pet adoption, and the donation may support a zoo’s animal care, conservation, or education work. What the recipient gets depends on the organization: it might be a digital certificate, a name on a display, merchandise, or a video. Some campaigns instead name a cockroach that will be fed to an animal.
The examples below describe 2026 Valentine’s campaigns. Their February deadlines have passed, and no 2027 terms are established here, so check an organization’s current campaign page before counting on a particular keepsake or delivery date.
What does it mean to name a cockroach for someone?
In the Bronx Zoo’s Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) campaign, naming is explicitly a symbolic adoption: the donor names a Madagascar hissing cockroach in someone’s honor, but does not receive or own the animal. Other zoos offer similar symbolic naming, while some use a named roach as food for a resident animal. Read the individual offer closely; “name a roach” does not mean the same thing at every institution.
The joke works as either an affectionate oddball gift or a breakup-themed gag. Some campaigns invite names for a “someone special,” a “not-so-special” person, or an ex. The donation is the actual purchase; the name and any included certificate or other benefit are part of the campaign.
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How the 2026 campaigns differed
These are examples from the 2026 season, not currently verified offers. Donation amounts and benefits below are the terms reported for those campaigns; they should not be treated as current prices or promises for a future year.
| Organization and 2026 offer | Donation and what was named | What the donor received or could expect | Timing and stated purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronx Zoo / WCS: Name-a-Roach | Donation levels started at $15 to symbolically name a Madagascar hissing cockroach. The $15 Original included a digital certificate; a $35 level offered a virtual encounter; the $70 Mystery Box included two surprise gifts that could include roach-themed items, a printed certificate, and a virtual encounter. | Benefits depended on level. The virtual encounter included a live expert chat and surprise animal guest. Potential Mystery Box items included socks, a beanie, cross-body bag, plush, or tumbler. | Orders for delivery by February 14, 2026 were due February 6; the release specified U.S. shipping for that delivery timing. WCS said proceeds supported its conservation work. Its January 16, 2026 announcement said the campaign began in 2011 and nearly 60,000 cockroaches had been named. |
| Zoo Knoxville: Hiss & Tell | $10 donation to symbolically name a Madagascar hissing cockroach. | An honorary naming certificate was included in the receipt; first names were to appear on the Cockroach Naming Board inside Wee Play. | Names for the board were due by 5 p.m. EST on February 13, 2026. |
| Brookfield Zoo Chicago | $15 donation for symbolic naming. | A customizable digital naming certificate; names submitted by February 5 were to appear on a board at the Hamill Family Play Zoo. | Donations were accepted through February 14, 2026. The zoo connected the fundraiser to conservation leadership and the ecological role of cockroaches. |
| Birmingham Zoo | Minimum donation of $20 for naming. | Digital certificate and cockroach fact sheet; first names were to appear on the Cockroach Naming Window. | Submissions were due by the end of February 12, 2026, with the display scheduled to be unveiled February 14. Proceeds were stated to support animal care. |
| San Antonio Zoo: Cry Me a Cockroach | $5 for a cockroach, $5 for a vegetable, or $15 for a rodent. The named item was to be fed to a zoo animal. | Downloadable Valentine’s card and a video featuring a zoo animal. | The campaign framed the fundraiser as supporting the zoo. President and CEO Tim Morrow called it “a fun and creative way” to get “innocent revenge.” |
| Discovery Place Science, Charlotte: Rose or Roach | $5 to name a roach for feeding to an Animal Ambassador, or dedicate a rose to a person; a resident tortoise would enjoy the rose. | Donors could opt for a custom e-card. At an in-person event on February 13, 2026, a $20 donation included a real rose and physical Valentine’s card, as well as the option to name a roach or dedicate a rose. | The museum said the campaign supported its Living Collections team. |
The Bronx Zoo/WCS and Zoo Knoxville examples explicitly described symbolic naming of a living cockroach. San Antonio Zoo and Discovery Place Science described naming food for an animal. Brookfield Zoo Chicago and Birmingham Zoo described naming campaigns with certificates or displays; check the current offer for precise details about the animal and what is included.
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What to check before giving
- Is the animal named or fed? Confirm whether the campaign names a living cockroach symbolically or names a food item that will be fed to another animal.
- What does the recipient actually get? Look for the exact certificate, display, card, video, merchandise, or encounter included at the chosen donation level.
- Will the name appear in time? Display deadlines and order cutoffs can be earlier than Valentine’s Day. Confirm the current year’s deadline and whether the benefit is digital, on-site, or shipped.
- Where does the donation go? Campaigns may describe support for animal care, conservation, or education. Use the organization’s own explanation rather than assuming all proceeds fund the same purpose.
- Is an alternative more suitable? A cockroach plush toy is a separate gag-gift option, not necessarily part of a zoo donation package. WCS listed a roach plush among possible 2026 Mystery Box surprises, but that does not establish that the specific item is sold separately or on Amazon.
Why a hissing cockroach?
Many naming campaigns feature the Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa). Scientific American describes it as larger and rounder than familiar household roaches, with a striped back. Rather than using lungs, cockroaches breathe through openings called spiracles; hissing cockroaches force air through those openings to make their distinctive sound. The hiss can be used in colony communication, when disturbed, and in mating behavior.
That natural history gives the joke an animal-centered context. Brookfield Zoo Chicago notes cockroaches’ ecological role, while Birmingham Zoo describes them as recyclers of nutrients and food for other animals. The fundraiser’s stated purpose, however, depends on the organization running it.
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How established is the Bronx Zoo tradition?
WCS’s January 2026 announcement said nearly 60,000 cockroaches had been named since its campaign began in 2011. Scientific American reported in February 2026 that more than 60,000 roaches had been named and more than $1 million had been raised for city zoos over 15 years. Those are differently worded figures from separate sources, so they should not be combined into a single exact count.
Scientific American also reported that almost 6,000 people wanted to name a roach in the program’s first year. Debbie Schneiderman, who leads the Bronx Zoo initiative, described the idea as “weird” and “very anti–traditional Valentine’s Day,” adding, “I think what we found is that people are not traditional.”
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Sources
- Wildlife Conservation Society / Bronx Zoo, 2026 Name-a-Roach announcement
- Zoo Knoxville, Hiss & Tell
- Brookfield Zoo Chicago, 2026 fundraiser announcement
- Birmingham Zoo, 2026 campaign announcement
- San Antonio Zoo, Cry Me a Cockroach
- Discovery Place Museums, Rose or Roach
- Scientific American, “Forget roses—name a roach after your valentine instead,” February 13, 2026
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