Crossword Genius

Heartless snake concealed bug (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aphid

'bug' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'heartless snake concealed' is the wordplay.
'heartless' means to remove the middle letters.
'snake' becomes 'asp' (asp is a kind of snake).
'concealed' becomes 'hid' ('hide' can be a synonym of 'conceal').
'asp' with its middle removed is 'ap'.
'ap'+'hid'='APHID'

(Other definitions for aphid that I've seen before include "Horticultural pest" , "insect pest" , "Blackfly or greenfly" , "Sap-sucking bug" , "plant pest" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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