Analysis of the cuticle phenotype of homozygous lwr¹¹⁸ mutant embryos reveals that, in addition to the pair-rule phenotype, a proportion have a posterior hole or a mild dorsal closure defect.

Embryos transheterozygous for lwr⁰⁵⁴⁸⁶ and lwr⁰²⁸⁵⁸ show cuticle patterns resembling those of lwr¹¹⁸ homozygotes and of lwr⁰⁵⁴⁸⁶/lwr¹¹⁸ transheterozygotes: a phenotype intermediate between the bcd and the hb mutant phenotypes.

Cuticle phenotypes vary from minor, with only a part of T1 missing, to very severe, where embryos lack segments from T1 to A5, and parts of the head. The posterior part of the embryo is always normal.