Are grooming the hair when an insect appears (6)
I believe the answer is:
earwig
'an insect appears' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'are grooming the hair' is the wordplay.
'are grooming' becomes 'ear' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'the hair' becomes 'wig' (wig is a kind of hair).
'ear'+'wig'='EARWIG'
'when' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for earwig that I've seen before include "Creepy type" , "Tap" , "Aural kind of insect" , "listen in?" , "Fork-tailed insect" .)