The study explores the tolerance of pollination networks to species extinctions by simulating the removal of pollinators and the subsequent loss of plants that depend on them for reproduction. The researchers used two large networks of plants and flower visitors, constructed from historical data, and removed pollinators at random or systematically from least-linked (most specialized) to most-linked (most generalized) pollinators. The results show that plant species diversity declined most rapidly with the preferential removal of the most-linked pollinators, but the decline was no worse than linear. This relative tolerance to extinction is attributed to redundancy in pollinators per plant and the nested topology of the networks. The study contrasts with the catastrophic declines observed in standard food webs, suggesting that the method used (preferential removal of pollinators) reflects their greater risk of extinction compared to plants. The most-linked pollinators in both networks were bumblebees and some solitary bees, highlighting the importance of these species in temperate pollination systems and their need for conservation efforts.The study explores the tolerance of pollination networks to species extinctions by simulating the removal of pollinators and the subsequent loss of plants that depend on them for reproduction. The researchers used two large networks of plants and flower visitors, constructed from historical data, and removed pollinators at random or systematically from least-linked (most specialized) to most-linked (most generalized) pollinators. The results show that plant species diversity declined most rapidly with the preferential removal of the most-linked pollinators, but the decline was no worse than linear. This relative tolerance to extinction is attributed to redundancy in pollinators per plant and the nested topology of the networks. The study contrasts with the catastrophic declines observed in standard food webs, suggesting that the method used (preferential removal of pollinators) reflects their greater risk of extinction compared to plants. The most-linked pollinators in both networks were bumblebees and some solitary bees, highlighting the importance of these species in temperate pollination systems and their need for conservation efforts.