Rate My Professor Mary Fran Keller

Keller's research focuses on insect morphology and systematics, with particular emphasis on the tribe Asidini in the family Tenebrionidae. She also studies Bahamian insect diversity and the impacts of isolation on Borrichia species in the Bahamas. She teaches ENT 100: General Entomology at UC Davis, introducing students to core principles of the discipline. In addition, she is Professor of Zoology and Biology at Folsom Lake College since 2016, serving as Department Chair for Biology and teaching a broad range of college-level biology courses including zoology. Keller is committed to public outreach and education, staffing interactive stations at Bohart Museum open houses to demonstrate collecting equipment and share entomological knowledge, leading Bioblitz events, participating in Biodiversity Museum Days, and organizing collecting expeditions such as to Belize. She authored the children's book "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," illustrated and photographed in collaboration with Bohart Museum affiliates, published through the museum. Her contributions to entomology are highlighted by the naming of the trapdoor spider Ummidia frankellerae after her by UC Davis professor Jason Bond. Keller has delivered tributes to luminaries like Lynn Kimsey and E.O. Wilson, served as president of the Pacific Coast Entomological Society, and maintains active research affiliations and collaborations within the UC Davis entomology community.