

Honeydew Melons

How to Choose a Ripe Honeydew Melon






How to Pick a Honeydew Melon






How to Pick Out a Good Honeydew Melon

Smell the melon. You want to find a melon with a fresh odor, so lift the honeydew away from the other melons, and smell it to see if it has a strong, honeydew scent.

Knock on the center of the melon two or three times. If the melon sounds hollow, it can mean it is either not ripe, or it is over ripe. The hollow sound is the result of not enough moisture inside the melon. If the sound of the melon is deep, or it sounds thick, it means that the melon is full of juice and ripe.

Feel the weight of the melon. Honeydew melons that are heavier than others of the same size are also riper and contain more juice.

Look at the skin of the honeydew. The color of the honeydew should be a pale, yellowish green.

Feel around the outer flesh of the honeydew. It should be firm, with only a slight give to the touch, and without soft spots or dents.

What Is Honeydew?


Sap-sucking insects feed on the leaves of shrubs and trees. Sap is high in sugar and low in nitrogen. In order to get enough nitrogen, the insects consume too much liquid and sugar. The excess sugar is secreted as a waste product called honeydew. This excess sugar draws insects such as flies, ants, and bees.

Insect Producers

Several varieties of insects produce honeydew. Common ones include: aphids, mealybugs, soft scales, leafhoppers, whiteflies and psyllids. Both immature and adult stages of these insects secrete honeydew. They excrete an amount of honeydew several times their body weight.

Insect Harvesters

Honeybees and ants harvest honeydew from sap-feeding insects. Ants use honeydew as an important food source. As a result, ants protect sap-feeding insects from predators. The presence of ants may indicate an infestation of sap-feeding insects. Honeybees process honeydew into a dark, strong-tasting honey.

Sooty Mold

A black fungus grows on the surface of honeydew. The dark fungal strands looks as if the object is covered with a layer of soot thus the name Sooty Mold. This dark fungus interferes with photosynthesis thus stunting plant growth. Severe coverage can cause premature leaf drop


Control begins with elimination of the honeydew producing insects. Horticultural oils and insecticides can be used to kill the insects. Remove honeydew quickly. Detergent and water combined with a lot of scrubbing will remove honeydew and sooty mold. The longer honeydew is left on patio furniture or vehicles the harder it is to remove.