A plucky male American stag beetle thinks he's found a mate on a rotting old tree stump—and then realizes there's another male eager to make the same conquest. The two beetles face off in battle, until the first manages to get enough leverage to toss his romantic rival off the stump in a deft display of insect jujitsu. It's the first time this mating behavior has been captured on film, and the stag beetle is just one of the many fascinating insects featured in the second season of A Real Bug's Life, a National Geographic docuseries narrated by Awkwafina.

The genesis for the docuseries lies in a past rumored sequel to Pixar's 1998 animated film A Bug's Life, which celebrated its 25th anniversary two years ago. That inspired producer Bill Markham, among others, to pitch a documentary series on a real bug's life to National Geographic. "It was the quickest commission ever," Markham told Ars last year. "It was such a good idea, to film bugs in an entertaining family way with Pixar sensibilities." And thanks to the advent of new technologies—photogrammetry, probe and microscope lenses, racing drones, ultra-high-speed camera—plus a handful of skilled "bug wranglers," the team was able to capture the bug's-eye view of the world beautifully.

As with the Pixar film, the bugs (and adjacent creatures) are the main characters here, from cockroaches, monarch butterflies, and praying mantises to bees, spiders, and even hermit crabs. The 10 episodes, across two seasons, tell their stories as they struggle to survive in their respective habitats, capturing entire ecosystems in the process: city streets, a farm, the rainforest, a Texas backyard, and the African savannah, for example. Highlights from S1 included the first footage of cockroach egg casings hatching; wrangling army ants on location in a Costa Rica rainforest; and the harrowing adventures of a tiny jumping spider navigating the mean streets of New York City.

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• Zou Qiang, 39, is the founder of a tailoring brand based in Shanghai.
• She met her partner 11 years ago and, like an increasing number of women in China, doesn't plan to get married or have kids.
• Part of her decision is due to money and time, but it's also a personal choice.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Zou Qiang, a fashion designer and owner of a tailoring brand in Shanghai. The following has been translated and edited for length and clarity.

My parents divorced when I was young, and I didn't have a very happy childhood. After I grew up, I wanted to do things that made me happy. I don't want to give to other people; I just want to make up for that time. Maybe that's selfish, but I've thought that for a long time.

I met my partner on an online dating forum. We were both based in Shanghai and, after a few months of chatting online, met up in person for Japanese food.

After a couple of months of dating, we decided to make it official. We shared the same perspective on what a relationship should be — monogamous best friends who are attracted to each other.

We've been together for 11 years now. We rent a two-bedroom apartment in the center of Shanghai, where we pay 10,000 yuan a month in rent, or $1,370. It's relatively cheap as we rented it unfurnished.

My mom often gets asked by her friends why I don't have children and why she doesn't put pressure on me. She points out to them that they have to look after their grandchildren every day and how it's aged them while she can go traveling. She's not the typical Chinese mother.

Many of my friends' parents believe that since they raised their children, they are entitled to be repaid with grandchildren or to be cared for in their old age. They see their kids as investments, not as individuals. My mom just wants me to be happy, and she says that makes her happy.

My partner's parents have been asking if we'll have children. They live in a village about 140 miles from Shanghai and have told my partner that it's embarrassing not to have grandchildren. But so far, I haven't changed my mind. Sometimes, parental pressure gets to my partner, and we discuss having kids, but I'd be the one carrying the baby, and I don't want to.

I have no interest in being a mom

Two other concerns I have about having a child are finances and who would take care of them. Having a child costs a lot of money. In Shanghai, I would need around 200,000 yuan, or $27,400, spare for hospital costs and basic necessities the first year. Also, to keep up with my job, I might need to hire a nanny.

My partner works in sales for a tech company, commutes to the office, and makes more than me. As I work from home and run my own business, I know I would be the one responsible for taking care of the child.

I've noticed that after a few of my friends had kids, they often started complaining to me. They tell me what hard work it is and about conflicts with their partners. None of them put pressure on me to have a child. About half of my friends have kids. The other half don't want kids or haven't found a suitable partner.

My fashion line is my baby

I started my own brand 12 years ago, and it's like my child. I even feel like every piece of clothing I make is like a child. When I'm designing, I start with an idea, look for the fabric, and find the buttons. After it's made, I still think about and care about each piece.

This winter, I designed a series inspired by a story about my partner's father. He rarely came home, but when he did for Lunar New Year, he'd pull money from a pocket sewn inside his coat. Each coat in my series features a unique inner pocket, meant to hold a piece of your childhood while keeping an adult appearance.

I design around four seasons of clothing a year for my brand, Duet, and also make individual pieces. I price them from 600 yuan for a pair of trousers to 3,000 yuan for a dress or coat. Everything is tailored. My clients tend to be women aged 35 to 50. My brand combines traditional Chinese elements with more modern Western styles.

I get to do what I like

Before I started my brand, I studied marketing and international tourism. I worked in human resources and then as a Mandarin teacher. When I had to go to an office, I couldn't sit still, and I felt bored. I'm doing work that I like now, and I can do whatever I want.

I eat out at least five times a week and travel several times a year. The last trip I took was to Russia with my partner, and we spent around 20,000 yuan on bear watching, climbing a volcano, and whale watching. We both like snow-capped mountains, so we travel to mountainous places every year. I would find it hard to give up my lifestyle to have a kid.

Despite China's efforts to encourage childbearing — including monetary rewards and subsidies — I come across more and more people who, like me, are not interested in having kids. In the past, people would think that you were weird if you didn't have children.

There are more and more weird people now, so it's become a normal thing.

Do you have a personal essay about life as a millennial in China that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor at [email protected].

• Three friends and I paid about $190 for an Uber Safari experience in Cape Town, South Africa.
• The flat rate covered a welcome drink, a buffet-style lunch, and the safari.
• I thought the experience was a great value for the money, and I hope to do it again.

As someone who lives in South Africa, I'm no stranger to going on safari. However, I was intrigued when I heard I could reserve a safari ride through the Uber app, and decided to try it out to celebrate a friend's birthday.

The experience, called Uber Safari, is a limited-time service the company rolled out from October 2024 to January.

In this daylong experience, a driver picks up Uber passengers from anywhere in Cape Town and takes them to go on safari at Aquila Private Game Reserve in the Western Cape. Once at the reserve, the staff at Aquila provides welcome drinks, lunch, and, of course, the game drive.

The whole experience costs a flat rate of 3,550 South African rand, or about $190, for up to four people. I also paid an additional ZAR45 for tolls. Here's what the experience was like.

The Uber Safari was fully booked for a few weeks out.

The Uber Safari picks up passengers in Cape Town at 9:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

I booked the first available date I saw about two months in advance but was able to move my reservation up a few weeks when I noticed a cancellation.

Our driver arrived just before 9:30 a.m. to pick us up.

Our driver arrived at my home in Cape Town just before our 9:30 a.m. pickup time. He drove a white BMW X3, a luxury vehicle with leather seats and enough space for four passengers. 

We drove alongside a group of other Uber Safari vehicles on the way to Aquila.

During our trip, we joined a convoy with other BMW X3s, all Uber Safari vehicles on their way to Aquila.

This game reserve is known for its array of wildlife and luxurious accommodations, such as a spa and on-site lodging. It's very popular, with many people visiting Aquila independently or as part of a group tour. 

With Uber, we'd booked Aquila's "big five" safari — an experience where participants hope to see lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo, and rhinos.

Upon arriving at Aquila, we needed to sign forms and provide photo IDs.

We signed indemnity forms at Aquila's entrance gate and were dropped off at the main reception area, where we were asked for photo IDs.

I was a little surprised since I didn't see that passengers would need to provide photo IDs on the Uber app, but fortunately, we all had some form of identification with us. 

Then, we were led to an outdoor area and greeted with a welcome drink of our choice — pink sparkling wine or carbonated apple juice. 

Before our safari, we were directed to Aquila's restaurant for a buffet-style lunch.

The buffet-style lunch had lots of food options, including hot meals like vegetarian lasagna, seafood hot pot, and oven-roasted chicken. We were also offered desserts like chocolate cake and crème brûlée.

I thought the food was delicious and a great value, considering it was included in the cost of our booking.

We boarded a game-drive vehicle for the safari portion of the trip.

Just after 1 p.m., we boarded a large safari vehicle with the passengers we saw arriving in the other Uber Safari cars.

The open-air vehicle had a roof that provided some shade as we rode through the 10,000-hectare (about 24,710-acre) wildlife reserve.

We saw lions in their own separate enclosure.

Lions can be hard to spot on an afternoon game drive, as they sleep most of the day and are usually active early in the morning and late in the afternoon. However, they were the first of the big five that we spotted. 

Our driver explained that Aquila's lions had been rescued from the canned-hunting industry, which means they had been bred in captivity to be hunted (a practice many wildlife organizations have deemed highly unethical).

Because these lions never learned to hunt or fend for themselves in the wild, Aquila's rangers care for them in an enclosure separate from the rest of the reserve.

We saw plenty of other animals during the rest of the game drive.

The other animals on the property roamed freely around the reserve. 

We saw a range of animals, including elephants, rhinos, buffalo, ostriches, hippos, and zebras. Our guide did a great job educating us about the animals, their characteristics, and their behavior.

Our game drive ended two hours later at about 3:10 p.m. After a bathroom break and a quick browse through the gift shop, we boarded the same BMW X3 for our trip back to Cape Town, arriving just before 6 p.m.

Uber Safari was a great value, and I would do it again.

As someone who's traveled extensively, I feel that when you go on a trip with a tour guide, the experience starts as soon as you get in the vehicle. However, the Uber part of the experience was just that — a simple car ride.

Still, our driver was polite, professional, and friendly. Plus, the flat ZAR3,550 rate seems pretty reasonable for visitors, especially since our excursion covered two-hour Uber rides in each direction, lunch, and a game drive.

I would gladly try the experience again and have already recommended it to friends visiting from Canada. I just hope they take me with them.