A local oldtime beekeeper gave me a large swarm of bees yesterday. The swarm was the largest he had ever capture and wouldn't fit int a deep and a super. I opened up the super as soon as I got home and put a top feeder on the super. They seem to be all fitting into the boxes now.
Will I need to put another super on it only when they have drawn out a majority of the comb or do they need more space right now?
I probably wouldn't add room right away, but swarms, expecially big ones, are wax machines. Give em a little time to get hold of what they've got, and have a box ready to slap on when they need it. If they really go to town, keep feeding them foundation and get a couple boxes ahead. Always nice to have drawn comb in the bank.
Was he generous or what? But that's how I got started, an 86 year old beekeeper gave an 11 year old kid a empty hive and talked me through hiving a mid-May prime. Hiving a swarm as your first experience ever with bees is a sure fire way to get enthused.
With a swarm that size add 2 or even three supers at once, especially if your using medium or shallows. Mid-May primes usually don't even begin to slow down on the comb building until August when they will shift to concentrating on stores for the winters larder.