Already in the course of the programme “Bluetongue Monitoring Austria 2007-2010”, mosquitoes were counted in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) and the Museum of Natural History Vienna (NHM). The goal here was twofold; firstly, early detection of cases of bluetongue (BT), a viral disease which affects cattle, sheep and goats; and secondly, scientific recording of the prevalence of the insects transmitting the disease. Bluetongue is an animal disease which had been confined to Southern European countries, until a BT outbreak occurred in hitherto unaffected parts of Europe (2006 in the Netherlands and later in large parts of Europe including Austria). This monitoring programme provided ample evidence for the existence of mosquitoes and gnats previously not found in Austria. Due to veterinary measures, Austria has been considered BT-free again since March 2011. See final Report (German only) . However, at the end of 2011, an additional animal disease transmitted by gnats appeared in Europe for the first time: caused by the Schmallenberg virus, this disease causes severe deformities in lambs, calves and goat kids. Neither of the two viral infections affects humans. Types of life forms of mosquitoes.