British Columbia: What's eating away at my laurels (insect, fungus)?

I planted these laurels about 9 months ago and I just discovered something is amiss. Here's the symptoms:

1. Holes in leaves as though an insect is feeding on them.
2. White web-like substance, perhaps a cocoon-like structure from an insect.
3. Dark black edges to leaves as though they were singed with flame.
4. Tiny insects on some of the leaves.
5. An odd wrinkling of some of the leaves.
6. There are ants nearby and on some of the leaves.

I uploaded several photos as I'm a beginner and wouldn't know significant from trivial, here they are:

Portuguese Laurels under Siege (title in jest)

A quick Google suggests the problem might be aphids but I'm wondering if there might be more than one thing going on.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated - thank you.

 

Good evening, firstly it appears tou may have had leaf cutter bees attack the leaves. This in turn allows a pathogen Pseudomonas syringae to enter the wounds. Then you have leaf curl and death. Unfortunately each season you can have more or less of these bees.
If you have a weakend laurel then other insects will set in and attack your bush/ tree.
There are things you can do, but now the damaged leaves will drop and look rather unsightly. At this time of year new leaves on laurel will regrow.
I have this same problem nearly every year, but I prefer to see the bees tbh.
Some spray with a copper based solution and it has been shown to be successful.
A laurel hedge that has been suffering from drought is weakened and is more likely to suffer attack, so consider a watering schedule over the Summer. I water my hedge thoroughly and deeply every two weeks if dry weather.
Others might have different opinions, but this is from my experience with my hedge for the past 30 years and it's still alive.
Hope that's of a little help.

 

"The most common Laurel hedge problems are powdery mildew, leaf spot fungi and bacterial shothole. All 3 diseases affect the leaves of Laurel hedging, causing holes, distortion and leaving the edges tattered." Laurel Hedge Plants | Best4Hedging.

I think the holes you see in the leaves are caused by leaf spot fungi or bacterial shothole - or both, which are worse in wet weather. Prune out affected branches and pick up fallen leaves, then sprayen spray with a copper mixture as Acerholic suggests. Spray in spring to protect new leaves and again each time you trim the hedge. What makes holes in the leaves of a laurel hedge?

The reason I think that leaf cutter bees (LCB) are not the culprits is because LCB tend cut almost-perfect circles, usually from the edges of leaves.
Photo from my garden -

 

Here is a photo of mine from leaf cutters. The leaf on the left was attacked first. Thought I saw a few on @Nate Day photo.
Mine suffer from powdery mildew every few years, it seems to do the rounds with Laurel. All depends on the Spring we have.
Totally agree with @Margot about collecting fallen leaves. I only allow leaves from healthy trees to stay on the ground throughout the Winter.

 

Hi Acerholic and Margot, thanks so much for the detailed and thoughtful responses - much appreciated! It seems like there's more than one thing going on at the same time. Would any of these symptoms be consistent with overwatering? Perhaps the powdery white leaves near the ground?
Thanks again.

 

Good morning @Nate Day, powdery mildew is a fungal disease that does raise it's ugly head from time to time. It is 'under' watering that is predominantly the reason for an attack. Drought is often followed by this pathogen.
You are right in that you do have a few things going on with your Laurel. But if it is healthy it is less likely to be attacked.
As @Margot suggested I would removed infected leaves and IMO water thoroughly. I always spray the leaves with water 'mid morning' to help as well.
You will get a lot of leaf drop and these should be collected and destroyed. But don't panick, your laurel will recover. If you want to give a treatment then the copper solution is your best bet.
It may look a little unsightly for this season, but long term it will be OK.
Next Spring, if it is very dry then make sure you give it some water, a deep soaking once a week is better than every day . This will start the season with a more sturdy healthy bush that is more able to fight anything thrown at it.
Hope that is of help.