Stop with the Dawn!! Dish soap is not an ecologically sound solution either. Until identified, the only thing you should be using is water. A strong stream of water will dislodge most insects. Are they even doing any damage? Photos would help......it is almost impossible to successfully treat a problem unless you know the cause/source.

clusters of webs with dead leaves around the web. webs look similar to webworms webs but much smaller. bush looks mostly healthy. photos tomorrow.

i removed some webs. here are photos of webs & what was in them. i will back off on using dawn but none of the critters were moving this morning. in fact i saw no bugs. the black clumps in the photo may be egg clusters. i did blast most of the webs away with hose pressure. i was in shorts & a tee shirt & will go out again in long pants & a long sleeve shirt to keep from being jabbed & finish the task. yes, there was leaf & bark damage. this started last year but i was unable to deal with it because of back surgery

I've had these on my hollies. I sprayed them with water, which didn't help. They eventually killed my holly bushes.

I don't think that's egg clusters; I think it's frass ... from webworms. Perhaps the webworms are simply already gone (pupated) and the beetles/bugs you found are either coincidental or predators seeking webworms (such as predatory stink bugs - the nymphs look pretty beetle-like.)

can you recommend a treatment?

If the webworms are gone already, there's nothing to "treat," a hose might take off the remaining debris. If it's small section (i.e. a branch or two on a decent sized plant), then just prune them off.

Here's Purdue's extension's recommendation:

https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-255/E-255.html

If you have enough of an infestation to warrant chemical warfare, perhaps try Bt, as I'm pretty sure that is safe for bees. (I've never actually used it ... bought it once when I had squash borer issues, then "resolved" that issue by not growing squash because it was easier to just buy the patty pan squash at the farmer's market.)

Could possibly be holly bud moth.

water blasted & pruned & they're back. what's weird & that i cannot find any critters in the webs. next step will be a BT drench. i let the clippings dry in a trash bin & burned them.