There are 11 species of Sphaerophoria in Great Britain (1*), and S scripta is apparently the most common and easiest to recognise, providing it is a male you are looking at. Males have an elongated abdomen that when at rest extends beyond the length of the obviously shorter wings. Females cannot be easily identified to species level.
Wikipedia suggests this species has a very quick life cycle of 16 days from Egg to Egg Laying Adult. Adults feed at flowers on pollen and nectar as the male shown in the video below is doing.
The larva feeds as many hoverfly larva do, on aphids, so gardeners should welcome the presence of these guys.
DC: 17/06/2023
References
1* Ball, S & Morris, R. (2015)Britain’s Hoverflies A field guide. Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press.
Wildlife Garden 