"Get that damned thing out of my face!!"

I was all set to give you an inquisitive chickadee today, but then I found a ladybug doing her turtle imitation and I was certain that she would be the blip.

But THEN, I did a quick patrol of the daffodils (all in full bloom, finally) and found this irritated bumble bee. It was cool today, only in the low 50's so the insect activity was minimal and this bee was definitely sluggish. I had my little Nikon P510 bridge camera and every time I got the lens close, she'd raise one of her legs as if to fend me off. I've seen them do this before, but only when the temps are cool. No matter what side I approached from, one of the legs would slowly raise towards the camera lens (which, btw, was about an inch from the bee.

As best I can tell, Northern NJ has 3 types of bumble bees, although one (bombus affinis) is threatened. By process of elimination, I have deduced that my offering today is the bombus fraternus. Mind you, that's only a guess - if someone has a more definitive ID, I'd be happy to have it. It is interesting to me how different the eyes of this one are to the carpenter bee I blipped a couple of days ago.

Thank you for your comments on my white-tailed momma yesterday - you sent her to the Spotlight page!