They might be dead scale insects, that's the only thing I can think of.

Dead scale insects is the first thing i thought of too

Yes, me too.

and me too.
the females have their eggs under their shell. in some species the young feed on her. the ultimate scarifice!

Provado, Ultimate Bug Killer, at the ready ... Prevention is better than cure!!

Ooh, no, Avkg47! Provado ultimate bugkiller is something you only use if you have absolutely no choice, so certainly not as a preventative. Its really bad for pollinating insects and the environment generally. Scale infestation on wood is easily dealt with by other means, if you can reach it all and have the time.

I would also suggest you remove your Email address,Daphne,as we don't need your private information on any comments you make on here..

Hello ... only thought that 'dead' scale insects (or more correctly hibernating scale insects) means there are babies out there waiting to take over, so spray liberally under the leaves, and at the base of the plant, and keep checking under the leaves for more! They can be easily scraped off and squished individually if you prefer not to use a bug spray. Provado bug spray used locally, under leaves, is not a problem to bees etc - obviously don't spray if your shrub is in flower and full of bees or butterflies, when the hand method of gently scraping the leaves will be better ... camellia in flower for instance at this time of year - scale insects love camellia leaves, so spray under the leaves in late evening when bees have gone to bed!! I have no problem with using provado on lupins etc unless there are ladybirds feeding on the aphids.

These dead scale are on wood though, Avkg47, and often, depending on the plant and the variety of scale, they won't be present on the leaves. Removing them from wood is possible without the use of sprays - only when they're on the leaves, as in Teascale, do you need to spray.

Hello ... interested in your response Bamboo ... how do you remove them from the stems without bug killer? Any suggestions not involving chemicals are much appreciated!! Thank you. A good way of knowing they are under the leaves is any sooty type residue left on the tops of the leaves underneath.

There was a lot of scale about early last year, particularly on the woody part of Acers. I went round everywhere with my bottle of meths and some soft disposable cloths - I moistened the cloths lightly with meths and rubbed it over the stems, getting off all the scale. You have to be careful not to use too much meths - I ended up using too much on one plant and then had to give it a good clean with a wet cloth and no meths to get it off again! That's the trouble with jeycloths, impossible to lightly moisten. I did all the others with ripped up old teeshirt material, works well.

Sorry to quibble, bamboo, but how is methylated spirit a better chemical than provado, especially when directly used for specific purpose? My camellia last year was infested with scale insect under the leaves, which I sprayed after bees and bugs had gone to bed, and problem solved. Bees and bugs happy, camellia happy and me happy!

Its better because you're not spraying it everywhere - inevitably, stuff sprayed on plants also gets around and about. A meths moistened cloth only affects directly where you put it, that's why. Not to mention it doesn't contain imidproclid...
However, for Camellia scale (which is a teascale) you have no choice but to spray, because its mostly on the leaves.