We're based in Christchurch, New Zealand and its surrounding Canterbury area. Which means we're very prone to large earthquakes and plentiful aftershocks. This wasn't always the case, but since 4 September 2010 we've gotten pretty resilient to the earth moving under us.It wasn't until the 22 February 2011 earthquake however that we got very, very serious about strapping our hives. A couple of the urban hives fell over in the 6.3 magnitude quake with boxes separated and bees strewn everywhere.
With the risk of queens being damaged or killed under these circumstances, we have a standing policy to strap hive boxes together no matter the size of the hive or its location,
For the most part we use galvanised steel straps especially designed for the purpose. But during swarm season our strap supplies get a little low and we end up using fabric ones for the smaller hives.Today was like stepping back 6 years with a 7.5 magnitude, long-lasting and rolling earthquake hitting the South Island at 12:05am. We slept easy despite the quake and aftershocks knowing that all the hives have been protected against such an event. And a check of the apiaries in the morning showed everything in good order. Had any of the hives fallen over, then at least the damage to equipment and the bees would have been minimal.
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