[2] It and the bean weevil, Acanthoscelides obtectus, are sibling species and occur sympatrically throughout A. obvelatus' range.

[2] Both species are morphologically very similar and as a result, A. obvelatus has been confused with A. obtectus by several authors.

[2] Due to this fact, unlike A. obtectus, A. obvelatus is not a pest of stored beans.

[3] The main morphological differences between the two species are: the color of the pygidium, femur, and apical antennal segment, which are orange in A. obtectus but brown-black in A. obvelatus; as well as the shape of the antennae, which have longer and thinner segments in A. obvelatus.

The most reliable character is only found in males and concerns the shape of lateral lobes of the aedeagus, which are smooth and thin in A. obtectus but sclerified and thick in A.