Your wife started a lot like several of my relatives, by planting a pollinator garden and registering it. I think projects like that give people a reason to engage in outdoor activities and to break the connection to the living room couch or the gamer chair. This is something that all ages can really get involved with and learn from.
I have seen so many photo updates of caterpillars metamorphosing and finally launching. It is pretty awesome to see how a fat, tubular bug stuffed with plant material can dissolve into a bug soup and once the components settle out it will have added wings to a much improved tubular frame and only needs a few minutes to figure out how to turn those flappers into forward motion.
I agree that this becomes a real eye-opening exercise once you discover this in your own garden. There are so many things that I have been able to enjoy since beginning to reclaim my place by eliminating all the non-native plants that were introduced by previous owners. I still have a long way to go with a couple of the more invasive species of grass but I know that I will get there. I have a rototiller and Amazon, Fedex, and UPS bring new cardboard for weed block on a schedule that is disturbingly regular. Every new season brings another species that I haven't seen earlier into camera range. I'm feeling like the bugs and other animals see me as a normal part of the landscape that offers no threat to them now. That's the best feeling. Just like them, I belong there.