Because of their relative abundance in commercial fields and their attraction to muskmelon flowers, honey bees are the most important of the muskmelon pollinators. They collect both nectar and pollen, move freely from flower to flower and plant to plant, and continue visiting the flowers until late afternoon. McGregor et al. They calculated that one bee for each 10 hermaphrodite flowers is necessary to provide this rate of visitation. This means that many flowers must receive more visits than necessary if all are to receive the optimum number.
Growers prefer muskmelon fruit that is produced near the base of the plant.
Iselin et al. Their plants, shielded from bees, set no fruit, but plants visited by bees fruited normally. Bee foraging activity was similar to activity outside the greenhouse. Usually, the set of one or two fruits prohibits the set of further fruit until the first ones mature. The fruits that set later were less sweet than crown-set fruit.