[Objectives]  To detect endosymbiont species transmitted to plants by the feeding behavior of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, and the morphology and spatiotemporal dynamics of Rickettsia in different host plants. [Methods]  The transmission of endosymbionts by the B. tabaci B biotype into cotton, tomato and cowpea plants was investigated. Endosymbionts were detected by PCR and the location and morphology of Rickettsia in plants observed with TEM. Dynamic changes in Rickettsia titers in cowpea leaves was detected with q-PCR. [Results]  The B. tabaci B biotype is infected with the obligate endosymbiont Portiera and the facultative endosymbionts Rickettsia, Hamiltonella and Hemipteriphilus. Only Rickettsia was transmitted to cotton, tomato and cowpea plants by B. tabaci feeding activity. Rickettsia can move between different plant leaves and TEM revealed that it is located in the sieve tube cells of plant phloem. The morphology of Rickettsia in B. tabaci, cotton and tomato leaves was similar, but it was relatively smaller and slight rounder in cowpea leaves. The titers of Rickettsia in cowpea plants first increased, then decreased, with increased duration of continuous feeding by B. tabaci. However, in cowpea plants that had been fed on by whiteflies for only 7 days it first decreased, then increased slightly, then remained basically unchanged. Phylogenetic analysis based on variation in the 16S rDNA sequence indicates that Rickettsia found in cotton, tomato and cowpea leaves is identical to Rickettsia in B. tabaci. [Conclusion]  Rickettsia can be transmitted to host plants by the feeding activity of B. tabaci after which it becomes localized in the sieve tube cells of phloem and can move between different leaves. The morphology of Rickettsia may vary slightly in different hosts, and the efficiency of transmission of Rickettsia varies with host plant species.