Jeanne said:

> I just walked out the front of my house and there was a
> gentleman from the village sitting in his car writing for the longest
> time....then he got out and walked up to me and said I understand you have
> beehives in your backyard.  He said that he checked with the village and the
> village told him I could not have them.  I told him that before I got them I
> called the village ( I did)  and that they said there was nothing in there
> that stated I could not have them.  I did not volunteer my address
> however...........

If there is an actual law on the books that says "no beekeeping", he
would have cited the specific ordinance.  Why didn't he?  Likely
because there IS no such specific law.

You would be amazed how creative people can be sometimes, reading a
law against keeping "barnyard animals", and claiming that this means
bees, largish dogs, hamsters, whatever animal they don't like.

> He further stated that a neighbor complained that the bees were
> attacking their dog.

I would have said "Let's go right now, and take a look."

    "What?  Reports of what may be a bee bothering a dog?
    Quick!  To the Bee-mobile!  Bee-Man To The Rescue!"

Nothing better than addressing the issue at once with the
(assumed impartial) civil servant in tow.  You might have gotten
lucky, and been able to hand the civil servant an actual dead
yellowjacket for "further study and classification by experts".

    "I'm sorry Inspector Lestrade, but it appears
     that the victim was not attacked by a honeybee
     at all...  Watson - look here... see the 2-foot
     long gash?  Bees simply cannot slit a man
     open like that.  It may be the Giant Rat of
     Sumatra..."

     "Holmes, you've done it again!"

I'd suggest asking the civil servant to call you when and if the "bees"
show up again.  It is easy to capture a few with a butterfly net,
and then show the neighbor that the flying object at issue is clearly
a yellowjacket, bumblebee, wasp, or a low-flying Navy P3 Spy Plane
on routine patrol over international waters.

Of course, if they turn out to be honeybees, you will be honor bound to
temporarily move your hives, as described in a prior posting.
Clearly the water issue would be the one to address.

> He asked for my name and phone number and said he would get back to me.

You should have asked for his!   If nothing else, you can ask pointed
and repeated questions about the claimed "law against keeping bees".
If nothing else, you can force him to admit his bluff/lie/whatever.

If he is a real civil servant, he will likely drop the matter unless there are more
complaints, so make sure that you provide a constant supply of water to your
bees.  There are several dog-water-dish gizmos that keep the water bowl full at
all times, and connect to your garden hose spigot.  One of these, equipped with
tiny floating landing pads for the bees, might be just what you need.  The closer
to your hives, the better.

> What should I do?  I told him that they are honey bees and they are
> pollinators.  And that I have a 6 foot fence around them so that they fly up
> high and do not bother any body.  That was all that I could think of at that
> moment.

The problem here is that the neighbor complained to the village, rather than
taking the matter up directly with you.  Given that there can only be so many
dogs in your area, I'd suggest doing some nosing around and asking around.
If you can prove the exact type of insects that are "attacking" the dog to the
dog's owners, you can likely nip the issue in the bud.  You would get extra
points for suggesting that they purchase a yellowjacket trap (I saw some at
Lowes for $10 each).

Recall that yellow jackets "look like bees" to most people at first glance,
and most people do not want to look closely at a bee or yellowjacket to
try to tell one from the other.

Laws aside, most people can't tell one of God's creatures from another.
I guess we need to hand out color "field guides".
Mine would start with the basics:

     a) Bee
     b) Beet
     c) Beetle

...and, of course, break down the major headings (Honey Bee, Bumble Bee...)
(Sugar Beet, Rutabaga...) (Paul, Ringo, John, George, VW...)