Now, we can talk! This is what I was suspecting but couldn't see from the original photos. And WHO was gonna believe this? Your pest is the larvae of the three-lined potato beetle. It piles its excrement on its back as a fashion statement of some kind (actually a good disguise). Your plant is in the same family as potatoes, tomatoes, etc. Here is a link that might be useful:

Not a ladybug larvae but it looks like one of many syrphid fly larvae. They feast on the same things that the ladybugs do.

do not up the water.. without checking the soil ... how new is this tree???? your note indicates that it was a big investment.. so may i presume it is newer .. this year???? any sizable transplant will take a few years to regrow enough roots to support the tree ... so browned leaves are not uncommon .. with a tree.. i would err toward 'proper' water ... as compared to trying to drown it .... the only way to know if you are watering properly ... is to water it.. and then dig a SMALL hole with a hand shovel.. and see just how far down the water is actually getting... i would prefer one good deep soak a month .. to something like a sprinkler for 15 minutes a day ... you have to insure that water is getting down to the root level ... as to the holes in the leaves ... lol .. i would trim the tree up high enough that you don't see them ... lol .... i surely would not use chemicals on leaves that stay attached to the tree for the whole season .. they are still doing their work feeding the tree.. holes or not ... bugs come.. bugs go.. good years.. bad years ... but unless they are de-nuding the tree completely .. i just don't see where chemicals will get you anything positive.. in fact.. spraying of chemicals at the time the leaves are unfurling can burn the baby leaves.. and you will be further behind than if you left it alone ... on the other hand .. if its been in place for 5 years.. i might change my mind.. lol ken

rhizo, I took another picture yesterday and it came out just as blurry. Something seems to be wrong with my camera. The leaves do appear to be chewed up by something. They look chewed, but at the same time also sort of scorched into the colours of brown and black. There's also tiny black pellets on the damaged leaves that look like the droppings of some creature. Trouble is I don't see any creature. The damage is only on on branch tips. Such a pity, because the tree is into a massive phase of new growth right now. And thanks for taking the time to try to figure out what's going on.