As food B. cajani is considered a
delicacy to the Malagasy people. They eat it in the pupal stage either fried or mixed with chicken and rice. Landibe silk is harvested by women, who dye the silks using plant dye, mud, and charcoal to give the silk earthy colors. An estimated 10,000 families work within the silk industry within Madagascar. During the
colonial period, French authorities attempted to control the
landibe industry, with a
landibe research center being created by colonial authorities.
Joseph Gallieni wrote of
landibe silk as an "important issue which directly affects the economic future of Madagascar," with district boundaries planned out according to expected silk revenues within the tapia woodlands. The practice is one of simultaneously clothing the corpse, as well as honoring them. While refusing to shroud a corpse is viewed as stripping the body of its status as a human and veneration. , with robes of
landibe silk. Painting by
Henry Room, before 1850 Along with funerary shrouds,
landibe silk is used to make
lamba garments. The
lamba is often seen as an iconic Malagasy symbol to the diaspora population, which wear it to represent their cultural heritage. During the rule of
Radama I,
landibe silk was used to create Western attire such as suits and in the present day, can be used to make
high-end fashion. Some elder individuals hold the silk in high regard, and believe that only nobility and elders can wear it, due to its association with the practices of
Famadihana. ==Conservation==