Minnesota Zoo Invites You to Name a Bug to be Fed to the Animals this Valentine's Day

APPLE VALLEY, Minn., Feb. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As Valentine's Day approaches, love is a-buzz at the Minnesota Zoo. This year, you can give a gift as unique as the nearly one million known species of insects found throughout the world.

Make a $15 donation to the Minnesota Zoo Foundation before midnight on February 14 to name a bug in someone's honor and help feed Minnesota Zoo animals. Whether for a friend or foe, your bug will become part of a balanced diet for animals like golden lion tamarins, chameleons, opossums, turtles, and more.

Recipients will receive an e-card and a personalized message informing them that a bug has been named in their honor.

WHY BUGS ARE SWEETER THAN A BOX OF CHOCOLATES:
While bugs serve as an important food source for many animals at the Zoo and in the wild, they often get a bad reputation; so, let's show them some love!

• Beetles can support soil health and pollination. The soldier beetle, for example, can be found in gardens throughout Minnesota during the summer months. Mainly feeding on pollen and nectar, their frequent contact with flowers makes them an important pollinator.
• Spiders help keep mosquitoes and other small insects at bay inside your home. The silk they produce for webs has been used since ancient times for bandages and wound healing.
• Cockroaches are pivotal players in many terrestrial ecosystems and key detritivores ? sort of like the waste management unit of the forest. Many cockroach species exhibit caring behaviors towards each other including food sharing, grooming (known as allogrooming), and protecting their young.

Name a bug today at MNZooFoundation.org/Bugs.

Video and Photos - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/5dwgh58dtezkaaiydbwr5/AC5F-SjQsYHDCoNt7DRpWBk?rlkey=66haf8dips6qp0wyzvgm3wfx8&e=1&st=j7pe9b97&dl=0

ABOUT THE MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION
The Minnesota Zoo Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides critical funding and resources that support the Zoo's initiatives and expand its impact.

The Minnesota Zoo is a year-round destination providing a window into the natural world. With hundreds of species of animals, worldwide conservation efforts, and acres of scenic beauty, the Zoo is a resource to connect people, animals and the natural world to save wildlife. For more information visit mnzoo.org. The Minnesota Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and an institutional member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

SOURCE Minnesota Zoo