Adult publication secreted by minor, odd bits torn out (5)
I believe the answer is:
imago
'adult' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'publication secreted by minor odd bits torn out' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'publication' could be 'mag' (abbreviation for magazine) and 'mag' is found in the answer.
'bits' could be 'io' (resembling 1 and 0, both bits in computing) and 'io' is found within the remaining letters.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for imago that I've seen before include "Fully-developed insect" , "spinner, say" , "butterfly, for example" , "Final stage of insect development" , "latest development in cricket?" .)