Sex inspires females to do chores
It is news likely to be welcomed by male chauvinists everywhere - sperm makes females do more housework.
While the, erm, exhausted male takes it easy and has a doze, a chemical in sperm spurs females into an intense period of domestic activity.
Such is the effect on the female, it can see them cleaning and tidying for up to ten days.
Now, before all the men reading this decide to put these findings into practice, we should point out the discovery applies to fruit flies.
Fly sperm is coated with a 'sex peptide' which prompts the period of domestic activity in females.
A better understanding of how chemicals affect sleep patterns could shed light on neurological disorders such as narcolepsy, said Prof Elwyn Isaac, from the University of Leeds.
Fruit flies are supposedly a good model for looking at human sleep behaviour as they share many traits with us. 'It's well documented that sports coaches advise their teams to practise celibacy before an important match,' said Prof Isaac.
'Mating made the male flies very lazy and they took a long siesta period afterwards. But the females became much more active and busy,' he added.
'They also developed a much more adventurous lifestyle than virgin females, flying around to forage, find nesting sites and perform domestic-type duties.'
He added that the chemical makes female flies form an attachment to their mate and reject other males.
'Once the female has mated, if a different male performs a courtship ritual and tries to mount her she will kick him away,' he added.
'The chemical makes her reject all other suitors.'
