How can I get rid of these beetles that are eating my plants?

I have these beetles in my garden that are black in color with this soft rainbow colored shell on top that are eating my basil plants and petunias ect... They leave this skeleton effect on the leaves and I can't seem to get rid of them. There are a lot of them too. I don't want to kill my plants with sprays and I want to be able to eat my basil instead of the beetles eating it! Thanks for the help.

How can I get rid of these beetles that are eating my plants?
I have the same problem here in Illinois with those pesky Japanese Beetles. Check out this link:





http://www.operationgadget.com/2005/07/j...
Reply:go to lowes,homedepot,walmart.kmart ect, and get some seven dust powder form and that will take care of the problem. good luck