In general appearance the shell is like that of A. beani but the V-shaped nicks in which the sutures lie are wider and deeper, the lattice of ornament coarser because costae and spiral ridges are fewer; costae lost on the base of the last whorl. Aperture with varix and teeth within the outer lip. Without a tooth on columella. White or yellowish, apical whorls golden brown; a vertical brown band on the last whorl along abapertural side of varix which it crosses near the periphery, sometimes extended along the whorl subsuturally and peripherally.
There are 6-7 whorls which are rather flat-sided and the spire is regularly pyramidal. There are 16-20 costae on the last whorl, orthoclineor very slightly prosocline, 15 on the penult, 13-16 on each of the rest apart from the larval ones. Spiral ridges number 9-12 on the last whorl, 4-6 on the penult, then 2-3. The larval shell has an irregular spiral pattern. The aperture presents the same characters as in A. beani. Up to 4mm high, 2.5mm broad; last whorl occupies about two thirds of the shell height, aperture 40-45%.
A. cimicoides has been recorded from the Mediterranean to Norway, but is probably absent from the North Sea. In the British Isles it has been found, but not recently, in a number of places between south west England and the Northern Isles; absent, apparently, in Ireland. It is uncommon and lives from a few to 500 m deep on soft bottoms. It is a detritivore. Its reproductive habits are unknown though probably not different from those of related species.

Alvania cimicoides may resemble A. beani, but can be distinguished by having a larger aperture and a distinctly yellowish protoconch.

From the Denmark Strait, northwestern, western, southern, and southeastern Iceland, the Faeroes, northernmost Norway (Hammerfest). and south along the European west coast, throughout the Mediterranean, the Azores and the Canary Islands. Depth range usually 100-1000 m, more shallow in the north. Rocky, sandy and silty, current swept bottoms from about 35 meters and deeper, never in great numbers.