There are several methodologies (and mythologies) for choosing a watermelon that is sweet, ripe and firm.
Most people go with the reliable “thump” method: lightly tap the melon… it should sound as though your palm is bouncing off the melon. A ripe watermelon can also be identified by slight ridges on the rind. A perfectly smooth watermelon is probably immature.
Some believe another indicator is the presence of bee-stings which cause brown ridges or zipper patterns on the rind. During pollination, bees “smell” the fruit aroma, and bite the melon to bleed the nectar into the rind. Are bee-stung watermelons always sweet? What do you think?
Bee stung watermelons with a creamy yellow bottom are always sweeter. The secret is the yellow spot because this means the melon has had time to ripen in the field and not on a truck.
Ahhh…sorry…not buying the “bee sting” theory…bee’s die after they “sting” anything as it pulls out their gut when the stinger is left behind in the object that was stung…and bees certainly do not drink through their “stingers” either. BUT there must bee something to that old wives tale because everyone refers to it when looking for ripeness/sweetness in H2O-melons. My guess is that stinger’ like holes occur from something other than a bee sting/bite…maybe the melon bursts a bit when really sweet & ripe…not sure..would love to hear from an entomologist on this.