Crossword Genius

In this country you might hear an insect (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

laos

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'in this country you might hear' is the definition.
'laos' can be an answer for 'country' (Laos is an example). I am not sure about the remainder of the definition.

'an insect' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'an' could be 'a' and 'a' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'los' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for laos that I've seen before include "South-east Asian republic, capital Vientiane" , "Landlocked state in southeastern Asia" , "Country between Thailand/Vietnam" , "SE Asian country" , "Republic of southeast Asia" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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