The majority of Df(2R)ex8 homozygotes fail to eclose, and die as pharate adults. Rare escaper adults fail to unfold their wings and do not survive beyond 48 hours. However, artificial unfolding of these wings shows that they have no gross structural defects. The eyes and ocelli of these escaper adults are normal, but these animals lack a clypeus. Sectioning of the heads of escaper adults reveals that cibarial plates are present, as well as the anterior apodeme. However, the musculature is disorganized and does not appear to be consistently attached to the apodeme. In the brains of Df(2R)ex8 homozygous larvae, the ellipsoid body (EB) is abnormal. The observed phenotypes fall into three classes: The most severe "unfused" phenotype, where termini fail to intersect at the midline, is observed in over half of the mutants (57%); A less severe "elongated" phenotype is seen in one-third of the mutants, where the EB processes cross the midline, but are abnormal in width (28%); The least severe "ventral" phenotype, where the EB width is normal, but the ventral processes fail to close the rings, is also the least frequent (15%). Df(2R)ex8 homozygous larvae behave normally in phototaxis assays.

Deletion generated by Δ2-3 induced excision of P{lacW}F5 and P{lacW}3A2 present on the same chromosome. Loss of Rx sequence has been confirmed by PCR. Southern blots and PCR analyses are consistent with deletion of all sequence between these two P-elements, but not of flanking sequence (CG9235 and Act57B remain intact.)