Eh^exc/Df(3R)Eh animals do not survive to adulthood; more than 90% of the lethality occurs during larval stages and invariably occurs at the time of ecdysis, with around 80% of lethality occurring at each larval transition. Dead larvae either fail to ecdyse correctly, having well-pigmented 'double vertical plates' or shed the old cuticle bit then fail to inflate the trachea of the next stage. The few animals that reach the pupal stage show characteristics typical of a failure to ecdyse properly, such as a small or absent head or shorter than normal legs and wings.

Eh^exc/Df(3R)Eh larvae never enter a pre-ecdysis phase at the ecdysis to the third instar, but instead transition directly from locomotive behaviour to ecdysis behaviours. This ecdysis phase is extremely protracted, generally lasting more than the 90 minute observation period. The organisation of the peristaltic waves seen during ecdysis is altered compared to wild type, with the mutant larvae showing long runs of anterior- or posterior-directed peristalses, with no clear temporal order and interspersed by variable-length quiescent periods.