Lara is a genus of Nearctic beetles in the family Elmidae.

[1][2][3][4] Name Lara was also applied to a genus of orthopterans by Otte and Alexander in 1983 (now Musgravia Otte, 1994), and to a genus of harvestmen by González-Sponga in 1987 (now Venezuelana Özdikmen, 2008).

[1][2][3] In Oregon, the life cycle of Lara avara is 4 to 6 years long, or even more.

Adults can be found from May to August and live for about three weeks.

The larvae feed on decaying wood, absorbing substances liberated by microbial activity—they lack their own cellulase or endosymbionts.