Squash

Well from my experience with these kinds of squash
the flower has to come before the fruit, so to speak.
I think it is perfectly normal for the flower to fall
off, then the squash begins to form. Sounds like you
have things going right on time.....where do you live,
by the way? Too hot for squash here in Florida now.
That has to be one of the earliest planted in FL. I do
believe that this flowering, and the bees are most
essential to getting any squash to grow at all as a
matter of fact, I believe that it requires some cross
pollination to occur.

But should the flowers fall off? I thought, like with tomatoes, the flowers would just dry up and then the fruit grows from there?

I'm not abolutely certain, but aren't squash blossoms both male and female? Male blossoms have no fruiting function--just a moment of glory.

Noddy is correct. Male flowers are on a long stalk, female flowers are at the end of the young fruit. You can pollenate them yourself by taking a male flower, removing most of the outer membrane to expose the anther, and then sticking it inside the female flower.

You can also do this with your finger, but watch out for bees. If there are bees around, you probably won't need to do this, but I've had success with all types of squash.

Plantsturbation.

Oh!! Okay. I read about the pollination thing, using a cotton swab if necessary for do-it-yourself plansturbation (heehee). Didn't expect the male flowers to just fall off like that. Man. Talk about knowing when to vacate the premises!!
Ain't nature a hoot?

you have worms...yes, worms...if you cut into the vine, you'll see the little varmits...same thing happened to me the first time i planted squash...

some kind of flying insect (maybe fruit flies) lay their eggs on the vines...when they hatch, the minute larvae eat into the vine where they live...

you might want to consult an online plants web site for help...i just gave up on squash...

dont worry, the male flowers will not produce fruits,the females have a miniature version of the fruit beneath the flower as if the stem took on the shape of the fruit.
If youre worried about worms and vine borers, plant some radish seeds around your squashes and cukes. The natural radish smell on the leaves will keep the borers away, total naturalness.

farmer, what is the insect that lays the eggs to the vine borers??...

Melons have the same requirements as squash for public copulation.

I just read that the new, seedless watermelon are planted in alternating rows with old fashioned watermelon to insure that there will be enough male blossoms to fertilize the female blossoms.