The buzzword at Arts, Beats & Eats Sunday was gnats.
The tiny flying insects were bugging some festivalgoers so much that they decided to leave early.
"We left around 8 p.m. because they were getting so bad. They were horrible!" said Ashley Elizabeth on Royal Oak Patch's Facebook page.
The insects — also described by some as annoying and nasty — hovered around people's faces and beer in the late afternoon Sunday.
"They were everywhere. I know I drank a few," said Cheryl Palmer McDonald on Facebook.
Gnats are attracted to moisture, decaying fruit and rubbish. Females can each lay a few hundred eggs in the time you spend looking for the source, according to animal.discovery.com.
"It was like a plague of locusts. Hope it was a one day hatch and they all died over night," said Boby Owen.
Fortunately, as Patch reader Holly Elliott Marchione pointed out, once dusk hit, the gnats surrendered. And, it should be noted the flying insects didn't single out Royal Oak. Readers reported swarms in Troy and at the Detroit Jazz Fest, too.
Patch has a phone call in to the Royal Oak Nature Society to see if we can get to the bottom of this gnat attack!
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