Terrestrial arthropods were identified as secondary colonizers of an abandoned termite nest (Nasvtilermes tatarendae) at the beginning of the inundation period in a floodplain forest influenced by whitewater in central Amazonia. About 50 individuals of non-termite meso- and macrofauna were recorded per liter of nest volume, mainly terrestrial Arachnida, lsopoda, Diplopoda, Blattodea, Staphylinidae, and Formicidae. Apparently, abandoned termite nests could be important for the survival of the soil-fauna which migra tes to the canopy during the flood period.