Effects of antibiotics on fitness of the B biotype and a non-B biotype of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci

The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), harbors primary and secondary endosymbionts. Previous research showed that the invasive B biotype and an indigenous non‐B biotype (named non‐B ZHJ‐1 population) of B. tabaci from Zhejiang, China, harbored different endosymbionts. To investigate the function of these endosymbionts in the two biotypes of B. tabaci, we fed adult whiteflies with three antibiotics, tetracycline, ampicillin trihydrate, and rifampicin, and evaluated the fitness of their offspring on cotton plants. These three antibiotics did not remove the primary endosymbiont Portiera aleyrodidarum but were capable of eliminating the secondary endosymbionts. In the B biotype, treatments of adults with tetracycline or ampicillin trihydrate accelerated development and increased the survival of their offspring, while treatment of adults with rifampicin significantly retarded the development of their offspring but did not affect their survival. In the non‐B ZHJ‐1 population, treatments of adults with tetracycline or ampicillin trihydrate also accelerated the development of their offspring but did not significantly affect their survival, while treatment of adults with rifampicin significantly retarded development and reduced the survival of their offspring. These results suggest that removal of some secondary endosymbionts and/or reduction of the primary endosymbiont from B. tabaci may produce both favorable and unfavorable effects on the fitness of the host insects.