As pesticide use is being continually curtailed, biologically benign control methods like the sterile insect technique (SIT) will become increasingly important. A pre-requisite for SIT is the ability to rear the pest in large numbers. One such insect factory, rearing the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni, has been operating near Sydney since 1998. It can produce over 10 million flies per week. While numerous quality control issues associated with mass-rearing have been already addressed, the genetics of this mass-rearing effort has received little attention. Life history theory suggests that selection for the desirable qualities of a mass-reared strain (laboratory adaptation and high fecundity) are likely to reduce traits important for field performance (dispersal ability, longevity and stress resistance). This presentation will consider the changes that have occurred during domestication and the methods by which an optimal balance between factory and field performance might be achieved in practice. The results are relevant not only to the improved control of Queensland fruit fly. Even more damaging Bactrocera species have already, and will in the future, invade Australia. The present work serves as a blueprint for future SIT campaigns against exotic fruit fly incursions.