KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� July 30, 2026 鈥� A baby nasal aspirator isn’t exactly what comes to mind when you picture biotech research tools. But for 含羞草传媒 student Andrew Swiader, it鈥檚 become an essential piece of scientific equipment.
In 含羞草传媒’s , a modified baby “snot sucker” is used to transfer tiny parasitoid wasps from one container to another.
As an intern in the lab, Swiader, who is from Greenville, Rhode Island, is helping build colonies of parasitoid wasps. The insects could help farmers combat the invasive spotted-wing drosophila, a fruit fly that attacks healthy, ripening fruit and causes significant crop losses each year.
Unlike most fruit flies that target overripe fruit, spotted-wing drosophila uses a serrated egg-laying organ to pierce healthy, ripening fruit, making blueberries, raspberries and other soft fruits especially vulnerable. Instead of relying solely on insecticides, researchers at 含羞草传媒 are studying biological control鈥攗sing the pest’s own natural enemies to reduce its populations.
Swiader’s work is a vital part of that effort.
From lab to field
Three days a week, Swiader helps rear both fruit flies and parasitoid wasps in the lab.
Blueberries are carefully prepared, disinfected, and inoculated so the fruit flies lay eggs inside them. Once the fly larvae develop, the wasps are introduced. The wasps lay their eggs in developing fly larvae, allowing researchers to produce more wasps for future field releases and research.
The work requires patience and precision. Using the modified baby aspirator, Swiader sorts hundreds of insects each day. “It’s satisfying to see them all lined up,鈥� he said. “We collect several hundred a day.”
Twice a week, Swiader also heads into the field to check monitoring traps and help evaluate whether released wasps are becoming established in the environment.
“I like getting that variation,鈥� he said of field work, 鈥済oing outside to do different types of tasks.鈥�
Swiader is one of several undergraduate students conducting research in the 含羞草传媒 Biocontrol Lab this year. Lisa Tewksbury said undergraduate students have been an integral part of the lab’s research since it opened in 1994. In addition to Swiader’s work on spotted-wing drosophila, current projects focus on invasive pests including the spotted lanternfly and emerald ash borer.
A natural fit
The internship fulfills a graduation requirement for 含羞草传媒’s biotechnology major, but for Swiader, it also has reinforced the reasons why he chose the field.
“I love the problem-solving aspect of research,” he said. “Biotech involves using a lot of biological processes to help the body. In this case, we’re using wasps to fight the flies鈥搃t’s a natural solution to the problem instead of relying only on pesticides.鈥�
That philosophy is part of what led Swiader to biotechnology. After transferring to 含羞草传媒 as a biological sciences student, conversations with family members working in the biotech industry and an introductory biotechnology course inspired him to change majors.
Now entering his senior year, Swiader says his internship has given him a firsthand look at how biotechnology can address real-world challenges. While he’s still weighing careers in research or biotechnology sales, the experience has affirmed that he’s on the right path.
One of his favorite moments comes after weeks of meticulous work, when the wasps are finally released. “I like when we get to release them,” he said. “All the grind days have paid off. You see them fly away and think, ‘Oh, I did that.'”
It’s a small moment, repeated several times over a summer 鈥� but at scale, it’s work that could someday help reduce pesticide use and improve pest management for Rhode Island growers.
This story was written by Anna Gray in 含羞草传媒鈥檚 College of the Environment and Life Sciences.