The official White House transcript simply reads: "This guy is bothering me here - (swatting at a fly.)"

One brazen little insect did one better Thursday, landing on the forehead of President Obama as he announced his nominees to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The normally stoic commander-in-chief appeared visibly distracted with the bothersome bug buzzing around him. At one point, Mr Obama even noted, 'This guy's bothering me here.'

This was not the newly re-elected president’s first encounter with pesky pests.

In 2008, Mr Obama was flipping burgers on a grill for a photo-op while campaigning in Iowa when he was swarmed by flies, according to the L.A. Times.

But the most memorable insect-related moment in his presidency to date came in 2009, when Obama killed a fly during an interview with CNBC at the White House.