Musca scripta Linnaeus, 1758: 594. Type locality: Sweden (Svecia).
Musca libatrix Scopoli, 1763: 346. Type locality: Slovenia [as "Carniola"].
Musca invisito Harris, 1780: 83. Type locality: England (not given).
Sphaerophoria strigata Staeger, 1845: 362. Type locality: Greenland (not given).
Sphaerophoria scripta var. scutellata Portevin, 1909: 25. Type locality: France (Evreux).
Sphaerophoria menthastri var. violacea Santos Abréu, 1924: 71. Type locality: Canary Is.
Sphaerophoria brunettii Joseph, 1967: 243. Type locality: India (Srinagar in Kashmir).
Material examined: 1 male, El Marg, 26.III.1921, leg. Efflatoun; 1 female, Wadi Hoff, 14.IV.1921 (specimens published in Efflatoun (1922) and Shaumar & Kamal (1978)) [PPDD]; 1 male, Ezbet El-Nakhl, 12.IV.1943, leg. Shafik; 2 males, 2 females, Ein Gedeirat, 13–22.IV.1938, leg. Shafik; 3 males, 9 females, Wadi El-Lega (S. Sinai) VI–IX.1943, leg. Efflatoun [EFC].
World distribution: NE:?. OR: India, Kashmir, Nepal. PA: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azores, Canary Is., China, Egypt, Europe (widespread), Greenland, Madera, Mongolia, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia.
Egyptian localities: Coastal Strip: Nuzha. Eastern Desert: Ghoubbet El-Bous, Wadi Hoff. Fayoum: Kom Osheem. Lower Nile Valley & Delta: Abu-Rawash, Behaira, El-Gebel El-Asfar, El-Marg, Ezbet El-Nakhl, Giza, Helwan, Kirdassa, Kombiram, Pyramids, Shubra. Sinai: Gebel Moussa, Ein Gedeirat, Wadi El-Lega. Upper Nile Valley: Isna. Western Desert: Pyramids, Siwa Oasis. [Source: Efflatoun (1922); Shaumar & Kamal (1978) and the examined museum material].
Activity period in Egypt: February to November.
Remarks: Adults fly low through grasses and settle on vegetation, including grass stems. An extensive list of flowers is recorded for visits by this species in Europe, especially white Umbelliferae, Achillea, Cirsium, Crataegus, Erigeron, Euphorbia, Leontodon, and Origanum (De Buck 1990; Speight 2017).