Prior to the evolution of arboreal nesting, termites had a long history of association with the soil and its diverse microbial environment. The soil provides certain advantages to organisms that inhabit it, such as protection from predators and light, buffering from ambient temperature and moisture fluctuations, and greater access to food supplies of living and dead plant material. Despite these advantages, arboreal species have evolved nests that are completely separate from the soil. As eusocial organisms, termites live in nests that can contain thousands of densely packed individuals, and engage in behaviors such as mutual grooming that could facilitate the transmission of pathogens. We hypothesized that arboreal nesting behavior evolved as a mechanism of resisting disease. We measured the relative microbial pressures within the soil, nest and trail material, and on the cuticles of individuals within nests and trails of the arboreal nesting species Nasutitermes acajutlae on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each sample was centrifuged in 0.1% Tween 80 suspension, plated, and the colony forming units counted. Nests were measured in five different habitats: woodland, sparse vegetation, mangrove, dry forest, and moist forest. Abiotic measurements including internal nest and ambient temperature and humidity, soil temperature and moisture content, light, and elevation were recorded to determine their influence on microbial communities. Preliminary data clearly shows variations in the microbial communities between habitats, as well as between the core and trails of individual nests.